We learn things by reflection. If we go about our days, completing our tasks and checking off lists, meeting friends for coffee, or just reading a book, but don't sit at the end of the day and look back on everything, we miss out. That would be like putting a super nutritious meal in your mouth, chewing it to get the good taste, and then throwing it out and not swallowing. Nothing nourishes us if we forget about it 10 minutes after it happens.

In my life, I think some of the most important things happen in 10 minutes.

For instance, when I was on the phone with my Grandma last week, and she was telling me about all the women who are getting married in her small Kansas town, and all the bridesmaid dresses she is hemming for them. Or when I ran into my best friend unexpectedly on campus, and we got to talk in passing. These little things are consistent, pleasant, and have so much more depth than I think we know. They are now memories that I will always hold, but if I hadn't reflected on them at the end of the day, I most likely wouldn't be able to remember them now as I type this.

Currently, a lot is happening in my life, a lot of big things and small things, that all deserve reflection.

It's easier for me to reflect on the big things - like the growth in design that I've made over my two and a half years of being an architecture student, the way my family has bounced back from my Father's staph infection, the 10 months that I've been dating my boyfriend (that's us in the picture). But the smaller things that I mentioned earlier, those can tend to get lost in the craziness of it all.

I think that's why I wanted to start writing KSU's Odyssey community — It will encourage me to think deeper about those small things that I know really aren't small.

I had a volleyball coach in high school named Scott who always said, "The little things aren't little." At the time, I thought he meant that the small backward step I would take with my left foot to push off onto my right foot before chasing down a ball was usually the reason that I couldn't get to that ball. But now I understand that Scott was talking about so much more than volleyball.

So, here's to what hopefully becomes a series of articles in which I remind myself to take a step back and realize how many good things are around me, and how every single person and thing I encounter holds immense significance.

Perhaps I'll inspire you to do the same.