“I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.” – "The Office"

Last week, I was driving to school as the sun was just barely peeking over the tops of the king and queen skyscrapers in Atlanta. I sighed as another red light caught me. I had the urge to rub my eyes but resisted, knowing that I would rub off whatever makeup I had haphazardly thrown on that morning. Looking up at the skyscrapers, my memory was jolted back to when the thought of attending nursing school in Atlanta was a mere wish I had for the future.

When I had graduated from Georgia Southern University in 2014, I knew I was nowhere near done with college. I had worked hard in public health, but nursing had always been my dream. Two years have gone by, and once again, I am reaching the end. I found myself feeling a deep longing for the past. I never thought I would miss it, yet as I sat here in the exact place I worked so hard for, I realized I’m not happy. Something felt empty.

I thought of my old apartment, and the smell of pasta being cooked (at the time it was all I knew how to make), my roommate’s voice, late nights at the library and friends I used to see all the time. I thought of the long drives to Atlanta to visit my then boyfriend at Georgia Tech. I thought of the window in his room I used to look out of and watch the city at night. I remembered wanting so badly to be a part of it. My heart felt raw thinking of the simple things I used to love: the walks we took together when the leaves were changing colors, the football games and the nights when it was more important to stay up than to sleep.

Now, I’m here in the city I have longed for, about to watch my lifelong dream come true. So why do I feel empty? Then it dawned on me. I had spent so much of the past looking towards the future that I didn’t stop and enjoy those days while I had them. I was always focused on the next big thing in my life and didn’t pay attention to anything else.

College didn’t pan out like I had wanted. During my first two years, I struggled academically. Once I learned how to be successful, I excelled. I was so scared of letting myself struggle that way ever again that it changed who I was. While working hard is important and I don’t regret that, I do regret allowing that struggle to become what defined me. I realized that I had spent my last years of school so consumed with getting into nursing that time had moved on without me. People change, grow up and move on. I was fighting to cling to the days I had lost and was trying to hold onto people who were already gone.

I have often heard college being called “the good old days” or “the best years of your life.” Surely, the best has yet to come. The truth is, I have been making the same mistake again. I’ve been ridden with anxiety, stressed out and exhausted. I’ve been looking to the future, praying that the best has yet to come when I need to be looking at what is currently going on around me. If I keep looking ahead, I will never be happy at the place I am at now. If I keep looking behind, I will never grow. It’s time to embrace the bumps in the road and find joy in the little things.

I need to be thankful for where I am right now in my life. I encourage everyone who reads this to do the same. Life isn’t a sprint to the finish. It's supposed to be a journey. It is perfectly OK to miss the past or plan for the future, but we all can learn to enjoy what stage in life we are in right now. We have to believe that there are better things ahead, with some peaceful satisfaction of being in the present. If you are bored with the mundane like I was, try to remember your goals, aspirations or dreams without letting yourself get too lost in them. Make time to do things that make you feel alive. Make time to enjoy the simple things.

We can’t always perfectly plan for the future because life always throws curve balls, but we can change our perspectives. We can learn how to make these days worth being a part of. Stop looking for the next semester, the next job, the next boyfriend or the next big thing. Be content with your own progress. Don’t wish life away without at least trying to enjoy today. There are memories to be made now: new things to learn, new places to go and new friends to meet. Make sure you look up and around once in a while. You’ll be glad you did after these days are also gone.