Unfortunately, the fast pace of human life oftentime prevents us from staying present in a moment and savouring it. You could be living through a phase of your life which will remain incredibly important to you, and you wouldn’t even recognize it until it’s over.
For most of my life, I’ve anticipated the next best moment rather than enjoying what was before me. High school may have had its highs and lows, but most days I used to look forward to going to school because of the incredible friends I was able to spend time with every day. Even then, I took it for granted. I was too focused on what was to come. Going to the University of Toronto was always a dream of mine—something I’d hoped of achieving for so much of my life. However, in my efforts to make my aspirations become reality, I didn’t appreciate the life that I was living at that moment. Ironically enough, it was after I had come to UofT that I understood the significance of the people who made life worth experiencing rather than living it as a step by step instruction manual.
When I walked onto such a vast campus where I was expected to make new friends from the very beginning, I was beyond overwhelmed. I felt very out of place for quite a few months, like a fish out of the water. It was then that I discerned I should have cherished high school, where I was able to see my friends every day, more than I did.
Strangely enough, it was these friends that got me through the first few months of this new environment that I was so eager to step into. Whether it was through our weekly calls, daily text updates, or our monthly hangouts once everyone was back home—we didn’t let go of each other even when distance and a new chapter became a barrier. This made me feel even more appreciative of the friends that I had been privileged enough to have in my life.
I always thought, “distance makes the heart grow fonder” was an absurd thing that people said, but after my first year of university, I came to understand how true it was. I realized how much these people mean to me and how significant they are to the course of my life. After being apart from them, I made sure to never take the time I have with them for granted.
Of course achieving my dreams is still an important goal I want to work towards, but I’ve also recognized that I’ll never be able to revel in my success if I don’t first cherish those who give my ambitions a purpose.