Wake up, shower, get dressed, put on makeup, make coffee, get in the car, go to class/work, head home, eat dinner, go to bed.

This seems like a pretty typical routine for a lot of people in our world today. Days blend together and we do the same things over and over again. The worst part is that we don’t even notice this happening. Life moves at such a fast pace that, before we know it, days, weeks or even months pass by. We miss so much because we are always focused on what we have to do next. When we finish one task, it’s on to the next four before we take time to breathe.

When was the last time you did something for yourself? When have you taken a moment to watch the people of the world around you? Did you ever wonder where they are going? What is next on their to-do list? Do you care?

When we go through the motions every day, we don’t take time to “smell the roses” so to say. We don’t notice the kind gestures of others, but instead take them for granted. How difficult is it to hold the door for another, or thank the one who held it for us?

Simple things we learned early in life seem to fall to pieces as life speeds up. Remember when our moms told us to say please and thank you, mind our manners, and treat others the way we want to be treated? Why has that become obsolete when we are in a rush?

There will never be enough time for anything. No matter how hard we try to be superheroes in life, we are human and can only handle so much. When we have 20 things on our plate, we have to accept that in a day we may only be able to tackle 10 of them. We can’t let life pass us by to just be stressed and miss out on everything else that it has to offer.

At all ages we are forced to adapt to the speed of life around us. When we get to college especially, the fastest four years of our lives, we don’t realize where time goes. One moment we are unpacking our fresh-out-of-high-school-selves into a dorm room. Then, before we know it, we are applying for graduation and being thrown out into the real world. Slow down. Make those four years count. Take it all in and don’t let them fly by. The earlier we learn to slow down on our own terms, the better we will be able to handle the speed of life when we are older.

We are in control of our lives. We have a say in how quickly we move. Life can consume us and make us forget what it is we love and where it is we want to be, but we don’t have to let it. Don’t be afraid to smell the roses. Take a lot of pictures of the moments around you. Remember the simple things. Enjoy time spent with those you love. Enjoy time spent with strangers. Change strangers into friends. Allow yourself to sit in comfortable silence. Don’t let life fly by. Don’t blink. You’ll miss more than you’d think.