all of this

It doesn't feel like I have gotten to start my life yet. When my day ends, I just think about what I need to prepare for my day tomorrow - what errands I need to run, what homework I need to do, what time I need to wake up for work. All of us live our lives in this constant motion. I thought that this cycle might be a result of being a student, someone who's still working towards unaccomplished goals, but when I think about my parents, I don't think that is true. Even my parents, who have accomplished most of the main checkpoints of life, are still stuck in this cycle, ending one day by preparing for the next.

It seems like we are always working towards something, or if we aren't actively working towards something, we are just taking a break from doing so. We are never just accepting our life as it is. We never end our day by thinking back on our life or our day, but rather, we think ahead to plan and stress about a future that is not guaranteed.

I think we need to change this. Life is not just about working hard to achieve your goals. Life is not just about having fun and making memories. Life is not just about appreciating the small things. It's not just about family or friends or about making a big or small difference. Life is not just about the mistakes you made and the lessons you learn from them, and it's not just about the good things you do.

All of this is life.

Yet we move on from life each day without giving it any thought. We just move to the next day and the next until something makes us appreciate our life.

But I think we need to appreciate our lives more often. We shouldn't push through life in a hurry and end up wishing we had slowed down to accept our life as it is. We shouldn't remain unsatisfied with our life and focused on our goals and the journey there. Instead, we should find a way to work towards our goals and still be satisfied each day with the lives that we have.

In one of the best movies of all time, Ferris Bueller said, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you might miss it." But I think we move pretty fast, and if we don't stop and look back on our life and accept it, once in a while, I think we might miss it. We need to stop waiting for life to slow down one day and start to appreciate life now.