If I had to choose one piece of advice to give a younger version of myself, it would be to appreciate the little things that life gives you. These things can be gone in a flash, and you don’t realize what you had until it its gone. Whether it be lounging around on a breezy, summer afternoon playing cards with your grandparents or a bouquet of flowers your boyfriend randomly brings you. They all matter, and they all mean so much not only to you, but to the other person. I would give anything to play cards with my grandpa one more time, but I can’t and all I can do is remember the times I did get to spend with him.

I wish I had known how fast time goes by when I was younger so that I could soak in more moments. Moments are fleeting and it’s hard to realize which ones will stay with you forever. Some memories I have are of completely random times like one time when I was about 6 years old, my grandma sat with me laying across her lap on a swinging bench at her house and played with my hair as the rest of my family went to go look at a potential house for us to move into. I don’t know why that sticks out in my mind, but I just remember the feeling of the bench moving and her hands as she stroked my hair. Now, we barely sit on that bench, and I’m way too big to lay across her lap.

As time goes on, I will try harder to live and soak in moments. Of course, this won’t be happening as I sit in my Calculus class learning about multivariable equations, but when I’m sitting around a family dinner or out adventuring with my friends. You only live once, and I know that is a cliché, but it’s true. If you don’t stop to appreciate where you are, what are you really doing?