Growing up, it was drilled into my head that education was the top priority. For the most part, my parents were fairly strict about my grades, at least while I was young. By the time I was in junior high, I hounded myself enough about my grades that nobody else needed to remind me to keep them up. I have always been a straight-A student, and school was all I had ever known. I alway had known that I wanted to be successful. I never wanted to struggle like my parents had. So, that is why I worked toward success. It was an obsession.

I know I’m not the only person who has struggled with this. The feeling of not being good enough if you get anything below an A, and feeling like you have failed yourself if. You know what you are capable of, so when you perform below your own standards it's as if what you had worked for went down the drain. You live and breathe success. Having fun is not an option. Just do your work, eat, sleep, and repeat. You are literally a robot for success.

Then one day, everything stops, and the world slows down. You look around and realize that in a world full of hard work and determination, there is something missing. Due to all of your hard work, you have not enjoyed the moment. You did not get involved. You realize that you are flying through each and every day, and there is nothing to fill the empty space in your heart. Nobody tells you that the stress of success will literally tear you down. It will pull you into a dark world of self-degradation. Nobody tells you that one day you wake up, feel left out, and suddenly notice that the every ounce of happiness and enjoyment has been sucked out of you. You realize that because of your desire to be successful, you have forgotten to enjoy life.

Ally Breedlove once said, “This life is our gift to God.” Life is meant to be enjoyed. In the midst of all the stress and the responsibilities, we have to remember how precious life is. We have to remember our value. One bad grade does not define us, or our future. Not even two or three bad grades could possibly define us. Success is great, but as you get older you realize that today is a gift and tomorrow is not promised.

While we all work toward our hopes and dreams, we need to remember the importance of living in the moment. There really is no time like college. Soon there will no longer be much time to go to a party, watch 23 consecutive episodes of a show on Netflix, hang out with friends, knee board on the campus when it’s flooded, or even take a nap (just ask Reatha). So, right now is our time. Life is too short to not enjoy today because of tomorrow's worries. Do not let the stress of success bring you down. Have fun, do something wild and exciting, make mistakes (not too big), learn something, but most of all— make a difference. Make today worth living.