"Just think how happy you'd be if you lost everything and everyone you have right now, and then, somehow got everything back again." - Kobi Yamada

The other day when I was walking home I stopped by a new store under my building (Treehouse of Athens Boutique, check it out, folks). They had cute bath bombs shaped like cupcakes, so naturally I bought 12. I'm just kidding. I wanted to buy everything, but I unfortunately did not have the funds in my broke college student budget. However, I did splurge a little by buying one of them. That isn't the point, though.

While the store owner was wrapping my bath bomb, I looked on the counter and saw a stack of tiny little booklets, each one containing a different quote. I'm always on the lookout for the next witty one liner to post on my Twitter so I stood there and contemplated. "Should I buy a handful of these little treasures with the leftover imaginary money in my broke college student budget?" I asked myself. Luckily for me, this wouldn't end up being necessary. The one on top had already been opened so I picked it up and took a look.

In this moment, I was full of emotion. My busy head had been going non-stop for weeks now, I had been stressed about school, sad about soon being separated from my friends for the summer, excited to be almost done with finals, anxious about the future, etc etc etc. This small piece of paper made me stop in my tracks and think.

"Life is a beautiful thing and there is so much to smile about."

Life seems to be a constant climb (Miley Cyrus, ya'll!). I know I am always asking, "What's next?" while looking ahead. Planning for the future is great, but with all the anticipation of what's happening next, we often forget to delight in what we have now. Every so often, we all have days where we get angry at someone or about something and we let it ruin our day, our weekend, or even our month. In moments like this, it's hard to remember the people and things we have that are so good.

Just imaging losing everything I have right now, good and bad, makes my head hurt. If I have learned anything this year, it's that everything can change in an instant. Try to not let a single happy moment pass you by. Resolve your conflicts, tell the people you love that you love them often, give good hugs (not that awkward one arm thing), and focus on the positive as much as possible.

On your bad days, lean on your support system. Whether it's your friends, your family, your religion, an opportunity, or something else, there is always light waiting to drive out the darkness.

Today, I am thankful for my struggles, my insecurities, the occasional fight with a friend, and everything else in my life. Without the bumps in the road, my life wouldn't be my life. As we're going into the summer, I challenge everyone to crank up the radio and bask in the crazy ride of life while just being happy, even if it's only for a little bit.