Walking through campus I pass by strangers every day. They are usually just distant faces with legs bringing them to unknown destinations. I typically don’t think much of it. Sometimes, though, I glance at them and do wonder about whose day has gone wrong and whose insides are crumbled even when their faces remain stoic. I won’t ever know, though, because on the surface the face of a college passersby is often just a carbon copy of another passerby. In fact, it’s almost a requirement that by college the poker face for hiding your personal woes be perfected.
Well, whether you are good at hiding it or not, there is no doubt you’ve woken up on days when life grabs you by the shoulders and slams you back down. Fun? Not so much. But that’s life right? That’s the life we hear about as being unfair, not easy, and not always so sparkly.
So now this is probably my cue to insert motivational words like “tough times don’t last, tough people do.” Although it is a solid quote, I personally would rather offer words that haven’t lost their meaning through years of reiteration.
I would much rather offer advice like, “be greedy.” Greed may be the root of all evil, but it’s also the root of all happiness. “Why?” you might ask. Well, the happiest people don’t sit around waiting for some obscure force to lift them from the wallows of their despair. The happiest people take it upon themselves to fight each day until they get what they need to better themselves. They are greedy in that they don’t wait to be handed opportunities, they grab opportunities without saying please.
Of course I could have wrote something sugarcoated about how there are always going to be highs and lows in life, but that’s something you already know. The fact is, you are at a low and the only way to make it better is to not linger and to not stall. You don’t want to be the one with your feet in cement blocks watching as others zip by towards a more fulfilling life. The worst state to be in is that of a standstill, with nothing to do but look on as others are putting forth the will to steadfastly live their lives.
Collegiettes, if there is anything to retain from this it’s to be greedy in taking opportunities that will make you happier and to never stop moving. As I pass so many of you by on campus I only hope that you don’t let the chances of life pass you by as well. Stay greedy, stay hungry and stay moving.