We wake up everyday at 6 am already dreading the day. Literally, we lay there in bed after turning off the alarm, staring at the ceiling already wishing it was night so we can go back to sleep. We get ready for a work or school and forget to eat breakfast because somewhere along the way we didn’t realize that standing in the shower, contemplating our lives was wasting time that we could have used to at least put a bagel in the toaster.

We drive an hour through traffic in a car we’re trying to pay off, to a job we hate but we need that job to afford the car and everything else. We pretend like we have everything together but really, it’s the exact opposite- we don’t have anything together, we don’t have the slightest clue what we’re doing.

We’re sitting in a class that’s about 200 dollars or more per class period, but we learn nothing because were scrolling through Twitter or Instagram or we just don’t care enough to pay attention. We need at least six espresso shots to function and then regret it when we’re walking around with the caffeine shakes – it’s a real thing guys.

We spend the majority of the day, if not a large portion of the day wanting it to be over. Everything is so routine and monotonous and no one sees the excitement in everyday life anymore. The days begin to blur together and no one knows what day it actually is, and quite frankly we’re kind afraid to ask – so we settle for thinking its Tuesday but really its Thursday and we’re only a day away from the weekend.

Why don’t we stop to smell the roses for once and actually thank our lucky stars that we’re alive? Stop and look at the sunset because it is a beautiful work of art. Text your mom and dad, tell them you love them. Put a little pep in your step and stop being a negative Nancy. If you can’t immediately find something extraordinary, go find it.

Hell, create it if you can. Make those long car rides jam sessions or roll down the window and enjoy the fresh air – except if you’re in Phoenix – don’t do that. But get rid of that mindset that everything is crappy, and you have a crappy job, or you hate the class you have at 8 in the morning. Remember that these crappy mornings, jobs, days, classes, etc., are only for a moment.

Go for a hike, or sit by yourself at a coffee shop and read a book or stay inside reading a book or watching a movie or simply do anything that will make you a better person than you were yesterday and the day before that. Do something that will make you feel alive and not like a walking corps that relies on coffee to survive the week – find the extraordinary and the weird in the world that will bring joy in your life.

In the words of the late Stephen Hawking, “ One, remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Two, never give up work. Work gives you meaning and purpose and life is empty without it. Three, if you are lucky enough to find love, remember it is there and don’t throw it away.”