On Enjoying Life . . . and all that jazz

So, my roommate and I, last night, randomly decided to go get whipped cream from the store. On the way out, we met up with some fellow classmates, making random comments and jokes. As we continued on, making a detour to the mail room, she made the comment, “I love college life. I just do.” That comment stuck with me. It had been a long time since I had thought of it that way. Freshmen year, all I thought, all the time, was how much I adored college and college life. This year, all I thought, all the time, was how I needed to get this over with and get out of here. And I realized, not for the first time, I admit, that my mindset was to just get through life, without pausing to enjoy what I had right where I was at. Yes, I wanted to move off campus, yes, I wanted to graduate, yes, I was tired of classes. But, ultimately, looking around, I have it pretty good. Tons of friends, an education, a gorgeous campus, random runs to the store for whipped cream. I decided it was time to start jotting down reasons to enjoy life. Still working on the list, as it seems a little hard to adjust my mind, but so far I have jotted down that:
With college comes opportunities like no other. New friends every year, learning that will stick with you (hopefully) for years to come, spontaneous trips, adventures, trips, opportunities you can actually take up.
People you will always remember. When it comes down to it, college will be filled with memories of the people there, not the research for that paper, or the hulu videos you watched to procrastinate on your homework.
When you walk outside and take a deep breath, and look around, no matter the weather, there is always some type of beauty in it. The trick is realizing that.
It is worth taking out time to do things you enjoy along with your homework. Life is to enjoy and live, not to rush through. Why rush to the end of life? Where did the hurry come in? Enjoy, but be responsible. Being responsible actually helps you enjoy life more, because you feel like you deserve a break when you do the fun things, and you feel like you’ve actually accomplished things.
Now is the time to say yes to opportunities. When will you ever again have so many opportunities you can accept?
The grocery store in town was closed. So we drove to the next town. At 11 PM. To get whipped cream. We turned the radio up, rocked out to it, bought the whipped cream, drove back to college, and spent the evening “working,” joking, and spraying whipped cream into our mouths.
Spontaneity, Seizing the moment, and all that jazz.