It was less than a week ago that one of my professors emailed me, along with my classmates with information for this upcoming semester. The email read that the syllabus was now online for us to look at, along with all of our assignments we would need to complete.

As I clicked on it and scrolled through, the familiar pit in my stomach began to form. The syllabus was long and involved; it appeared that this class would be a lot of work. It was then that it all hit me; this isn’t freshman year anymore, and my life would be consumed with deadlines and assignments sooner than I would expect.

I had woken up that morning excited for what was to come. Since the beginning of the summer I had been counting down the days until I would be reunited with the friends I hadn’t seen all summer and to be back at my favorite place. I was ready to be done working and to have structure in my life again. But after reading the syllabus, I was less than thrilled to be thinking about school. I spent the rest of the day scrolling through my phone, looking at pictures on my phone from this summer, regretting not cherishing every relaxing minute I had had at home.

I began packing up all of my belongings. I thought back to this time last year, how weird it felt to put everything I owned into suitcases and to say goodbye to my family and the friends that I’d known for so long. This time around was different, of course, since I had already had a year of college under my belt, but it still felt strange. As excited as I was to see my friends, I would still miss my family incredibly, and I knew saying goodbye to them would not be any easier the second time around. I regretted not cherishing that familiarity, and every moment I had had at home this summer.

But that’s when I realized it. School wouldn’t supposed to start for over a week, and I was stressing about assignments that were due two months from now. On the flip side, I had spent so much time counting down the days until I was back at school (and to be done working) that at times I had forgotten to cherish how little stress I was under and how little responsibilities I had. I had spent way too much of my time thinking about what was to come that I forgot to enjoy what life was providing me in the present moment.

There will be times this semester where I will wish for all of my assignments and the stress to go away. (Who hasn’t wished that?) But I know that even in those situations, I will remember to find the positivity because it will always be there.

This week I realized how important it is to enjoy life as it comes. I know that’s super cheesy, and I’ve definitely heard it before, but it really is important. There will always be something to look forward to, things to plan, and there may, unfortunately, be things that I will worry about, but putting all of my energy into thinking about those things will not do me much good because I could miss out on something great that is happening in the present. I am not at all saying that we should not plan whatsoever, or that we should live entirely in the moment. But it is important to look at everything that life throws at you in a positive light or you might miss it.