It’s another stressful midterm week with finals right around the corner, and all you can think about as you walk to your dorm is how badly you want to take a nap (but can’t). You’re minding your own business (grumbling to yourself about that paper you have to write) when, all of a sudden, it happens. You look up, and there it is in all its glory. The rare and wonderful moment every stressed college student dreams of has finally arrived. You see a dog.
If you’re like me, it’s almost embarrassing how much you need to contain yourself as you continue walking forward slowly to fully take in the moment. No matter how much you freak out on the inside, it’s inevitable that you’re about to undergo the six stages everyone experiences when spotting one of these fantastic, four-legged friends.
1. The First Sighting:
You take a deep breath as you admire your new fluffy friend from afar. They are slowly approaching but you don’t need to make a decision just yet. For now, it’s okay to take in the moment and enjoy the fact that you and this dog (or dogs if you’re truly lucky) are currently existing in the same general area. Honestly, who could ask for anything more amazing?
2. Decision-Making:
The time has come to make a decision. You want to jump up and down and run up to your new four-legged friend with all the excitement of a labrador retriever, but you can’t lose your cool. This might frighten the dog (and its owner). Instead, you could try to act like a normal person and calmly ask to pet the dog once you’re close enough, or you could continue walking back to your dorm and ignore the dog in favor of studying for your finals. This final option is clearly out of the question.
3: Taking Action:
Having decided to give yourself a break and truly take advantage of this glorious opportunity, you take your chances and ask the owner if you can pet the dog. They accept! You might as well have just won the award for happiest human being on the planet because nothing could top this.
4. Enjoying the Moment:
Finally, it’s happening. You take full advantage of the moment to pet that dog, scratch it behind the ears and verbally tell it that–even though you just met–you love it with all your heart. You might even think about your dog back home and how you can’t wait to see them again. For now, though, this wonderful moment will have to be enough.
5. A Final Farewell:
Unfortunately, all good moments must come to an end eventually. After a minute or two, you remember you really should be getting back to work and the dog’s owner probably doesn’t want to stand around watching you pet their best friend all day. Even though it’s the last thing you would ever want to do, you must give the dog one last pet and say your goodbyes.
6. Bittersweet Memory:
As you continue walking, you think about the amazing moment you just got to experience and how, even if the start of your day was terrible and the rest of your day is bound to be filled with studying, at least you have this memory to cling to. That dog’s big, dopey smile and the way its ear twitched when you called it cute made everything about the day worthwhile, and it will keep you going for the rest of the day. It was a dream come true.
Plus, there are always more dogs to spot if you keep your eyes open!