I love food so much. Just today, I ate eight cookies even. Why? Better question is: why not? That’s exactly what my quote this week addresses:
Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert. – Erma Bombeck
This quote teaches me to not only live in the present, but to thrive in it. Make it wonderful and make it exactly what you want it to be. For me, it reminds me that time is precious and unable to be calculated.
One of the toughest emotional experiences I’ve dealt with was the death of a high school classmate of mine. She was gorgeous, kind, fun and loved by everyone. Yet her life came to a dramatic halt in August at the beginning of her sophomore year of college. I could not understand it. I refused to for a long time. To this day, I still feel like her absence is not real. Yet out of such tragedy is an incredible lesson for the rest of us: live your life.
When she passed away, I hope she wasn’t on a diet. I hope she wasn’t in a fight with a friend. I hope she wasn’t holding herself back in any way with any one. She may not have had the chance to fix what was wrong, or to nurture what was broken. But we can. We can do all that at this very moment, and it is that fortunate gift of the present that we need to use to our full advantage.
I had eight cookies tonight because I wanted to. Because if I wake up tomorrow to find out I have a severe food condition, at least I can know that I ate cookies happily and fully when I was given the chance.
If I wake up tomorrow to discover that my best friend is transferring to a school 5,000 miles away, I’ll know that I did not waste any of the time. I got to share experiences her right here in Gainesville and we didn’t miss out on anything.
If I wake up tomorrow and discover that my crush now has a girlfriend, I’ll know that I danced the night away with him when I had the chance, and I put myself out there. If he chose not to like me, it means there’s someone more perfect out there for me, but at least I gave it a shot.
Live your day-to-day life in a way that will eliminate the “should haves.” Eat cookies, take too many pictures, dance in a rainstorm, confront
your angry friend, flirt with your coworker and lead with love. Do all of this and more. Why are you waiting? Will there really be a better time to make up with your sister or go skinny-dipping in a pool? No. Release the inhibitions, embrace the present, and stop making excuses.
Your time is now, collegiette. You have today. What will you do with it?
Xoxo,
QQ