“Life moves pretty fast. You don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” ~Ferris Bueller

Many people take life for granted.

So often, we wake up feeling drowsy and think, "I don't want to get out of bed, today is going to be rough."  And, as we're going about our day, we complain, "Today is the worst day, everything that could go wrong is going wrong."  When we come home, we say, "Thank goodness that's over."

I caught myself in this kind of mood today.  Sometimes, we may act and think negatively and not even notice it.  And I know that, whenever I am in a bad mood, I often just want to feel sorry for myself and mope because it is easy (and occasionally oddly satisfying).

However, I think that bad moods, negativity, and moping do not solve anything, and they certainly do not allow us to live our lives to the fullest.

Iconic movie character Ferris Bueller says it best: "Life moves pretty fast.  You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."



There are so many things that we miss when we're set on brooding.  Lousy moods bring our eyes down and hunch our shoulders.  For instance, today was a beautiful day on campus with lightly falling snow gently coating the trees and sidewalks, but I didn't even notice until I snapped out of my sulking.

Photo Courtesy of Penn State

Life does move fast, and many times, we just want it to move faster.  Whether we just want this week to be over so we can be done with our exams, or if we can't wait for spring so that the days are lighter and longer, or even if we are wishing for the whole semester to be over because we are stressed, we should try as best as we can to live in the moment and appreciate life for what it is right now.

Of course we are stressed, tired, and occasionally unmotivated--that is just the nature of being a college student.  It is our choice, though, whether or not we want to act stressed, tired and unmotivated, or if we want to live more positively and always look for the good things in our worst days.

When you have an exam, sit in the coziest lounge with your favorite hot beverage and enjoy being comfortable and at ease.  When you need to write a paper, take five minutes to call a friend you haven't spoken to in a while just to catch up.  When you're late for class, make sure to keep your head up so you can still take in the beautiful scenery as you rush down the sidewalk.

Don't be so caught up in the hustle and bustle of life that you don't stop to see what's going on every now and again.  The truth is, we don't know how much time we have left on this planet.  It could be a day, or it could be a million, but the only thing that's certain is the present, so make sure to live in it.