When you are in the midst of life, it can feel like an ongoing flow – event after event and nothing in between but waiting for the next thing to occur. We can become so focused on what is coming next that we don't stop and realize what is happening right at the moment before our eyes. This is where we mess up in the grand scheme of things and where we miss out completely.

Fair warning, this article is about to get extremely cheesy and inspiration, so if you're into that kind of thing, buckle in babe.

As a person who gets so lost in the frenzy that is life, I from time to time take a step back and realize all of the times I missed out on hanging out with a friend I haven't seen in months and that boy that asked me out that I turned down because I was only focused on grinding and getting everything done. I was too focused on things that in the grand scheme of things, won't really matter much.

I am not saying push off work or school to go to an all-night rager. That is not what I am saying at all. All I'm saying is, look at your priorities once in a while and if you notice it is all work, work, work, there might be something missing.

There's nothing worse than grinding through a semester and at the end of it, realizing all of the friends you pushed aside and all of the opportunities you missed because of you were so focused on the work aspect of life and not paying enough attention to the play aspect. It breaks my heart sometimes when I realize the amounts of times my friends have texted me wanting to hang and my response was, "Sorry I can't, I have a mountain of homework." Or when this guy I'm crazy about wants to go out and my response is, "Sorry I can't I have work."

If we're really going to analyze this deeply, I have probably missed opportunities to fall in love, to experience once-in-a-lifetime opportunities with my friends, and go on adventures with my family.

That education you are working for is important, that paycheck is important, and whatever goal you are grinding towards is important. But so are the things in life that make living so amazing, like falling in love, going on adventures with your friends, and laughing and loving with your family.

The thing that I absolutely do not want from my life is to look back on my past and be filled with regret because I pushed aside the people that wanted to be a part of my life. I don't want that for anyone. I want us all to look back on our past and smile, not only because we had a good time, but because we achieved our goals and had a good time. I want us to look back confident that we used our beautiful beating hearts to the fullest and we had a spectacular time.

We have hearts and I say we use them while they're beating because one day, they won't be and one day those opportunities will stop coming. Don't lose out on life. Live it.

Get that diploma. Get that paycheck. Achieve that goal. But don't forget to live.