In your time of self-discovery in college, in singleness, in engagement, in marriage, in confusion, in success, do your best to be present. Be in that moment. Take it all in. Understand that you are where you are for a reason. Celebrate that time with the understanding that this, whatever this time is, will not last forever. I think we should treat these phases as such.
As a graduating senior, I’ve been spending a lot of time looking back on my years in college. I’ve had a really great time filled with meaningful people. I’ve experienced a lot of love and laughter coupled with disappointments and tears. It’s hard to not get nostalgic walking through some parts of campus.
There are certain places that hold particular memories attributed to people, or important news, acceptances or rejections, etc. I'M NOT EVEN A GRADUATE YET!!!! Why am I feeling so nostalgic? Catching myself in these moments allows me to snap out of the nostalgia.
I've come to the conclusion that I want to hold on too tightly to the memories that temporarily shift my world. I remember the excitement of starting classes, the smell of the classrooms, the walks to class with a certain someone, the complaining after classes with my roommates.
These memories bring me back to a multitude of emotions, some that I desire to revive and relive and some I hope to never experience again, and even desire to forget. I'm not discounting the emotions I've experienced as they have shaped me into who I am today.
However, I need to spend less time hoping and reflecting and more time being in the moment. I really need to be in the moment, to be present and enjoy where I am on my journey. I can be nostalgic later in life when I’m graduated and when I’m not walking through these halls daily and when I'm not surrounded by my college friends, when I truly have something to miss.
I believe there are times we are meant to experience. We are meant to experience friendship, companionship, love, and successes as well as heartbreaks, disappointments, and failures. While it's hard to be present in the heartbreaks and failures, it makes the loves and the successes that much sweeter. It's important to know that this phase is temporary. Your emotional state will change.
The euphoria will definitely fade; you will experience the pride and sadness that the game of life has to offer. I don’t want to spend my time thinking about the future, thinking about what could be, or what could’ve been, and I definitely don't want to spend my time thinking about my past. I don't want to dwell on the rejection of the 'important' people in my life. I want to be confident in where I’m at in life.
I want to be aware that my phase of life will pass with time. This happiness, this heartbreak, this confusion, this sadness, this anxiety will not last forever. I understand that I can't control everything, I can't make that employer hire me, I can't make someone love me, I can't force someone to be my friend, I can't make time move faster or slower.
In whatever season I find myself in, I can actively choose to celebrate the good times and look for the possibilities of the future in the midst of my disappointments. I can choose joy. I can choose to love others and go above and beyond for people. I can choose to embrace the phase of life which I have been given.
I can choose to embrace the singleness and pour into my friendships, focus on my relationship with Jesus. I can choose to embrace the phase of being in love, I can choose to enjoy and actively pursue his heart. I can choose to embrace the pain, the failure and the hurt because I know that will make me appreciate the successes and love and healing THAT much more.
I can choose to celebrate the little things. I can choose to embrace the love, the laughter and the inherent spontaneity that we millennials embody.
I know this phase of life will not last forever. This phase will pass, whether I want it to or not. I simply think it's important to be present. Feel things to enhance your life.
