I used to live for the nights. I lived for the times my friends and I would spend getting ready to go out for a night on the town. I lived for the nights that we may or may not have fully remembered. I lived for the lights in the city, lighting up the dark and shadowy night. I lived for the laughs and cries. I lived for the adrenaline and excitement that I felt buzzing around me everywhere I went.

I lived for the newly sparked conversations at the local bar. I lived for the horrible dance moves. I lived for the themed fraternity parties that occurred every weekend. I lived for the short walks home. I lived for the stories we would be able to tell the next day. I was living for the nights.

It might all sound exciting to you, maybe even relatable. I enjoyed it for a while, but things changed rather suddenly. It was no longer fun, but instead stressful and complicated. Nothing needs to be stressful and complicated, but it was becoming that very quickly. I may have enjoyed it, but I did not cherish it.

“When you have once seen the glow of happiness on the face of a beloved person, you know that a man can have no vocation but to awaken that light on the faces surrounding him. In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” - Philosopher Albert Camus

So instead, I choose to live for the days. I live for the start of a day when the sun is rising over the grand city skyline, reflecting its light off of every glass surface to brighten the sky. I live for the early morning walks across the Stone Arch Bridge, overlooking the St. Anthony Falls' roaring currents. I live for the long afternoons spent sitting in a quaint coffee shop with my closest friends chatting and doing school work. I live for dinners in the big kitchen with everyone there when we sit in our chairs after our meal talking for what seems to be hours.

I live for the late night movies we stream in our small, shared bedroom. I live for that feeling of crawling into my bed after a long and stressful day of classes. I live for the peace and serenity I feel as I listen to my latest music playlist on low while writing my daily journal entry detailing just about anything and everything going on in my life. I live for the quiet blanket of silence that covers the bedroom as my roommates all fall asleep.

I live for the calm and occasionally hectic days. I live for my friends, family, and myself. I live for this moment. I live for the awareness and happiness all mixed into one. I live for the now, not the past or the future. I live for the feelings of joy, love, adventure, and peace. I live for the feeling of life. I live for the day.