I have always grown up such a planner. I have always wanted to know what is going to happen, when it is going to happen and all the details I could possibly know. I have never really been the one to go with the flow, but I have gotten much more used to this idea over time.

I most recently have had many events in my life where things were thrown at me and I had to overcome them relatively fast when I was not given any ounce of warning. I have learned so much from those experiences and they have made me so much more free and spontaneous.

Once I got to college, I learned you can’t really plan every aspect of life out very well. I certainly couldn't when I was at school and I really had to pave my own way. I realized that I had to take it day by day and really learn how to go with the flow. College is the one place it does not help to be a planner.

I have been the stick-to-the-plan girl and the spontaneous let's-do-something-crazy girl, and I can 100 percent say I love being the let's-do-something-crazy girl more.

I feel so much more free and cannot even count the amount of memories I would not have right now if I did not take chances and do crazy things in the moment.

Living in the moment gives you so many opportunities to try new things and take risks. Taking risks is always something that is so important in life because it helps you to see what you could be missing in your life. You never know, maybe you would love something and it could have the possibility to change your life for the best but you would never know because you never took the risk.

Taking risks can be really scary at times but it is rewarding to obtain the experiences, new people you meet, and new hobbies you come to realize you love. I cannot even count how many people I have met, things I have done, and amazing lessons I have learned from me taking risks in the past. They have given me such an amazing outlook on life that I am beyond grateful to see.

One thing that comes with living in the moment that I think is important but most often gets forgotten is that when you are living in the moment and taking risks you need to step back and notice how grateful you are to live the life you do. Notice how grateful you are to even be able to have the opportunity to take risks other people do not even have the chance to take.

Sometimes we forget how to not let little things bother us and we are always stuck looking ahead at the future. We are always thinking about what we do not have when people don’t even take the second to step back and realize how fortunate they are. You don’t have to be the wealthiest person and have the best material goods, or most popular friends, but if you’re lucky enough to have a couple really close friends, and a roof over your head, be grateful, live in that exact moment, and realize how lucky you are.

Don’t try and look ahead into the future because you can’t change what is going to happen. Living in the moment and taking those risks is going to get you where you need to go in life.