As of late, it seems that the stress level of many individuals have skyrocketed and too often this leads to us forgetting to remember all of these little things in life that are beautiful and awesome. I find that it is because of these little, simplistic things in life that I am able to remain positive and grateful for all that I have. You may be questioning what these little things are, but just take a look around you, breathe in the surroundings, and open up and feel what this world had to offer. For example, here is a poem I felt inspired to write because of the amazing weather we've had this past week:

Autumn Leaves

The crisp air caresses my face, gently, playfully,

In the breeze, autumn leaves sway gracefully.

The colors of autumn stem from emerald leaves,

Coming of the season preludes to Hallow's Eve.

Cold Autumn nights clash against the hues,

As the artist's mind creates worlds from muse.

Laughter abounds amongst holiday cheer,

Undoubtedly, my favorite season is here.

We gather together with a sense of belonging,

Filled with glee for hayrides and pumpkin carving.

Nostalgia reminds of bonfires gone by,

The season's end is where leaves go to die.

And when these autumn leaves decide to go,

I'll remember this feeling of awe and woe.

An extreme winter cold behind the chill leaves,

I'll weep not for my beautiful autumn leaves.

Whether it be this wonderful weather, the magnificence of the ever-changing leaves, the color portaits of the sky, or picture perfect moments in nature, just seeing any of these things are eneough to brighten up my day. To be continually surrounded by a place so beautiful and serene is a privilege I will always be happy to have here at The Woods. And it's not only here at this beautiful campus that I get this feeling. Whenever the stress load weighs upon my shoulders heavily, I tend to stop and look up, or around at my surroundings, breathe in the beauty and let it encompass me in its ever welcoming arms.

These little moments are everywhere, everyday, at any moment, but we fail to notice them because we are too often focusing on our woes and burdened shoulders. But hear me now, because tomorrow is never guaranteed and it is a blessing to continue to wake up and see the lit up sky and the sun makes its ascent toward its highest point. It is a blessing to live and breathe another day. It is a blessing to be near family and friends, even if being near means constant contact becuase the distance is a little too far.

The point I am trying to make is that all it takes is a little perspective and that can make all the difference. We all know that there are terrible things that continue to happen daily and these things break our heart, but there is also many, many good things occuring that we are missing because we are too focused on everything else to notice. I haven't had a good night's sleep all week and each day I wake up more exhausted than the next. This morning, I really struggled to get out of bed, but I'm glad I did, because my professor brought in his dog and I got to spend time with this cute, energetic pup that made the rest of the day a thousand times better.

Every day, there are thousand of things to be thankful and grateful for. I get to go to a school I love and am still able to visit my family, pups, and nerd group over the weekend. I often wish I could see my old band friends as much as I see my family, but even though I have been unable to and it upsets me, I can be happy from afar as they continue to achieve great things and I am so proud of all the hard work that they do. It is small things like these that inspire me everyday and ultimately these are the most important.

I want to look back on these small moments and smile fondly as I remember all the good times, the ridiculously goofy times, and extremely hilarious and beautiful moments that spring from everyday little things. So if you take anything away from this article, I hope it is this: Times might be hard and stressful right now and things could going wrong all over the place, but I ask that in these moments you stop, look at the beauty around you, embrace it and draw in the posotive energy these beautiful moment bring you. Stop missing out on all of these amazing moments because you are too focused on all of the negativity. You do not need this negativity in your life and you should make an effort to cut it out. Look for these small moments. It is in these small moments that I feel what it means to be truly alive.