The first few months of the year seem to go on and on. After the excitement from Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's being back to back, there's not much else to look forward to for awhile. There's always little things here and there, but time just seems as though it decidedly moves a bit slower as the new year takes hold. Plus, winter just makes things cold and dreary, making it all too easy to be endlessly bored, counting down the days until warm weather and fun celebrations.

When there's not a lot going on, it's easy to feel kind of isolated or just really bored all the time. It's around this time of year I become reminded most of what a good time means to me, and that's usually just spending time with people I care about a lot. With that being said, it honestly does not matter exactly what we do during that time, but just that we're together. Don't get me wrong, I love having super cool plans like concerts, parties, vacations, or anything worth noting on a calendar, but I'm just as fine staying in and playing games, or just having a really, really good conversation. It's great to text my friends and figure out plans for us to do something during the upcoming week, but I also enjoy spontaneous little outings we haven't put all that much thought into. Often times, the most last minute gatherings and adventures are the best, most memorable nights. If you can have a successfully entertaining night with your friends without having it pre-planned, you're blessed.

Although, it's not always just about having an amusing night out with your closest friends. Sometimes, it's just about letting yourself partake in what you find is necessary to ensuring you're happy. This could mean spending the day alone watching shows on Netflix, going out and grabbing some ice cream, or simply reading a book you've wanted to get your hands on for months but never found the time. I promise you, you can always make the time. It's the power of choice. You can't escape the difficult, yet mandatory parts of living, but you can ease them by giving yourself the gift of doing something you'd genuinely like to do once in awhile.

Thinking about all of the responsibilities that stack up as we get older, we have to learn how to balance what we have to do with what we want to do. A great deal of the time, we can get too wrapped up in the all too serious matters at hand, letting the more worthy things slip away a bit. It's like hearing about a tragedy and becoming overwhelmed by the feeling of how lucky you actually are in comparison and how you no longer want to take anything for granted. You shouldn't need a tragedy, stressful situation, or nostalgic thought to get you into that mindset. It's all about prioritization. If you're willing to sleep a little less in order to grab a drink with friends, so be it. If you don't mind spending a little cash for a nice trip rather than putting it towards going out to eat or getting a new item, go for it. More importantly, If you haven't done something in awhile that you used to love doing, you should go out and do it. If someone crosses your mind, you should reach out. If it means the world to you and then some, it should always be a priority. Never forget that.