The other day, at about 3 a.m., I was lying in bed wide awake when a thought struck me. And I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind since. I had spent all day going to classes, doing homework, and living my normal boring life. Nothing crazy, out of the blue, or even remotely interesting had happened. It was overall a dull, unmemorable day. And suddenly, I wondered, “What am I doing?”

Well, I’ve been doing the same thing about all my life. I go to school, come home, do homework, watch some TV, and go to bed, only to start it all over again the next day. But still, I don’t really know what I’m doing – what my purpose is in all of this. And to me, purpose is a necessity. Without it, what good am I? Am I living just to exist…or to do something more? I’m not okay with just going through the motions without stopping to wonder why I’m doing it.

And life is just beginning to seem like a routine to me. From the second we’re born, we’re given a blueprint for life with relatively minimal opportunity to tweak or change anything. We’re thrown into school, expected to go to college, forced to get a full-time job just to make ends meet, and continue on until we can finally retire.

It’s all about go, go, go. This blueprint leaves little space for adventure, fun, and just plain living. You can’t tell me that we were put here on this great big Earth, against all odds, and our purpose in life is to just make it through to the weekend. No, we were made for something bigger than that.

I’m not going to say that school or work is a waste and that we should all drop out or call it quits. Getting a college education helps you not only better yourself, but it also sets you up for success later on with your career. And having a career can be not only an outlet for you to do what you love – it can also a way for you to better society. But, I am saying that we all just need to take a second and slow down.

You - yes, you - need to take the time to remember the little things. Take time for yourself, be selfish once in a while and go on an adventure just because you want to. Do something crazy. Break the routine of your day to day life.

Find something you’re passionate about and chase it. Actually, live a little bit.

You have plenty of time to get where you’re going. Don’t stress. Just make sure that along the way, you leave some time for adventure.

Leave some time for you.