Take the moment to observe the world around you. Take the moment to look at the big, cotton-ball clouds floating around in the sky as you travel from building to building. Take the moment to witness the beauty of the double rainbow that graced the sky after you got soaked from the buckets of water that were dropped from those clouds after the rainstorm. Take the moment to study the facial expressions of the people pushing past you; I am talking about the juicy smirks of those who are suppressing their glee over either exciting news or a fresh secret, and the crooked grimaces of those who may be having one of the worst days. Observe these facial expressions with great care, as you should never judge a book by its cover.

Take the moment to make someone’s day just a little bit brighter. Take the moment to give someone a reassuring smile when their day has been tough. Take the moment to ask that girl with that crooked grimace if everything is OK. Take the moment to offer someone a helping hand and hold open that door for them when they are trying to carry a mountain of boxes. Take the moment to buy someone an unexpected coffee or lunch not because they were out of money, but just because you wanted to see the look of pure surprise dance on his or her face. Take the moment to compliment your friend on the outfit that she spent hours planning the night before. Take the moment to let your role-models know how much they inspire you to be a better person. Half the time, they don’t even realize that they have had that much of an influence on you.

Take the moment to take chances. Take the moment to sit with a different group of people at lunch than you usually do, and take the moment to seriously enjoy their company. Take the moment to meet new people, and take the moment to throw away any worries of how they will react when you randomly introduce yourself. Take the moment to goof around by singing and dancing to showtunes in your dorm room, not worrying if your roommate is going to walk in at any second. Take the moment to go out for that job that you think you would never get. Take the moment to audition for that performance company that you have dreamed about being a part of, and take the moment to try that new, exotic food that you have never seen before. Take the moment to participate in something you love, but in a different role than you ever have done before. Most of these chances never come about again, and you will never regret taking these chances.

Take the moment to keep all the friendships that you have created, but also take the moment to realize which friendships are the best ones. Take the moment to cherish all the fun times you have had with your friends. Take the moment to ask your friend how everything in her life is going, and take the moment to offer that shoulder to cry (or rant) on if she needs it. Take the moment to invite her to hang out when you guys have not hung out together in months. Take the moment to realize that you may have been shoving other friendships aside when you have been so hyper-focused on maintaining a singular friendship with someone else. Take a moment to realize which friends are the ones who have been there for you during those hard times. Take the moment to listen to your friend when she attempts to reach out to you as her only lifeline for rescuing her overall happiness. Also, make sure to take the moment to realize which friendships are the ones worth maintaining as well. Some friendships are more toxic than healthy, and this will save you a lot of heartache in the long run.

Take the moment to maintain your own self-worth as well. Take the moment to take care of yourself before you take care of those around you. Take the moment to realize that you are a beautiful person, and that nothing can change that. Take the moment to realize that you don’t need to have “cool” friends or your “dream” job to make yourself feel worthwhile; you can do that all on your own. Take the moment to watch a few episodes of your favorite TV show on Netflix, and take the moment to indulge in that pint of ice-cream when you earn that well-deserved treat. Take the moment to go to sleep early when you can, because although you may want to stay up to do your homework, your body will love you for taking care of it. Take the moment to realize that you are your own person, and that you don’t really need to submit yourself to others standards to make yourself happy. You can make yourself happy by taking care of yourself and realizing that the only one who gets to control how you live your life is you.

Take in these moments right now. One day, you may not be able to see the pure, white clouds that grace the stark, blue sky. One day, your drive to make others feel happy may have gone to oblivion with your optimism about life. Those chances you were too afraid to take will be gone in a flash if you don’t jump on them. That friend who truly was there for you and cared about your well-being probably will have moved on by the time you realize how much you needed them in your life. Your personal health may as well have gone down the toilet if you haven’t taken the time to take care of yourself. Really, it isn’t that hard; take one moment out of your moment-filled day to live your life to the fullest.