As college students, we tend to be constantly stressed or caught up in where we want to end up. Every academic, social, and even emotional decision we make feels like a step toward who we’re trying to become. In many ways, our time at university is a series of decisions carefully crafted around an end goal. However, we tend to live out these moments, especially in university, looking far ahead: wanting to be rich, afford luxuries, live in cities like New York, or gain admission to top grad schools. Somewhere along the way, the lines begin to blur between living life and preparing for it. So how can we take active steps to enjoy the journey to our destination?
- Carpe diem!
Seize the day! If you haven’t seen Dead Poets Society, I highly recommend it. One of the most important takeaways from that film is the idea of carpe diem: to truly live in the present. As individuals, we often live by many quotes and ideologies shaped by hustle culture. Phrases like “sleep when you’re dead” or “you can’t have a million-dollar dream with a minimum wage work ethic” are meant to push us towards. And while, yes, I believe that such quotes can induce ambition and drive, they aren’t sustainable ways to live day by day. Hustle culture can quickly become toxic, and burnout is very real. Instead, we should start living by the idea of “seizing the day”, which helps us be more present in our everyday moments rather than constantly absorbed in the future or stuck in the past. Living in the present allows us to feel the efforts we make day by day, and we show up for ourselves in a more meaningful way.
2.“I’ll Be Happy When”.
Many of us fall into a trap of saying things like “I’ll be happy when…” I get into a good school, get rich, and achieve my dream career. But the truth is, we often end up waiting forever. We create goals for ourselves constantly. After we reach one milestone, another one takes its place. So why don’t we make the effort to be happy now rather than keep waiting?
Happiness doesn’t have to come from major achievements. It can come from small everyday moments, such as getting that assignment done, getting a bit further in that book you’ve been trying to finish for a couple of months, or even working out that day instead of doom-scrolling. When we stop waiting for the right moment and delay our happiness, we realize that our happy moments are already happening right in front of us.
3. Find meaning in effort.
We often measure our worth and success by our results, rather than by our experiences and the growth that comes from working towards our goals. But there is real significance in the energy and effort we put into getting somewhere. Every hour we push to keep studying, every time we try again, even after rejection, or even just showing up to class when we feel exhausted, these are all conscious efforts we make in pursuit of our idea of happiness. And those efforts matter. When we become more aware of the work we put in, we begin to develop a greater sense of appreciation for ourselves and our capabilities. What may seem small from the outside can actually require a great deal of effort based on our own personal limits—and that, in itself, is worth recognizing.
Ultimately, our lives are made up of the small, everyday moments we often overlook. Showing up when we’re tired, the conversations we have with our friends, and the personal growth we experience along the way are all parts of life that contribute to the bigger goals we have in mind. We are already living, so we shouldn’t get too caught up in where we’re going. Life is happening now. We should start paying attention to where we are in the present, because the journey we are so eager to rush through may actually be more meaningful than the destination.