You will never be where you are again. And this is good news! Maybe you find this statement obvious or upsetting. Maybe you find it confusing. I find it comforting. I was sitting on the beach in Delaware with my parents and my dog, listening to the Beatles and feeling the wind on my face. Then the song Something began to play on my headphones. The lyrics of this song include “ something in the way she moves… I don’t want to leave her now.”
For those of you who know me, you know that the knowledge that I have to leave my dog behind to go to college breaks my heart. I can barely think about it without beginning to cry. And I was listening to this song, becoming saddened. Until I realized something. I was never going to be 17 on this beach with my family, with my dog, ever again. I promptly got up, stole my dog from her little blue beach tent, cradled her in my arms, and began to dance. I mean, I’m sure most people wouldn’t call what I was doing dancing, as I am not particularly talented in that area, but I was swaying and spinning and doing vague representations of dance movements. I was smiling and laughing, most importantly, I wasn’t focused on the fact that one day soon I will have to leave my dog at home, but instead, the moment that I was given the gift of having with her now.
The thought process continues to a moment with my family in the car. My dad began to sing along with the radio, not exactly saying the correct words and not exactly trying to sing well. Occasionally, I have found these moments annoying or unnecessary, but this time, I began to laugh. I won’t be able to listen to my father sing forever, and as much as they sometimes annoy me, I won’t always be in a position to drive around with my family either. So, I might as well laugh, I might as well enjoy it, I might as well accept the moment and encourage him.
This mindset could also continue with less positive moments. While running up and down the field for what felt like the 30th time at Field Hockey preseason, I began to consider something. This is my last year of preseason! This thought gave me the ability to push through to the end of the exercise and even made me slightly nostalgic as I realized how much my endurance has increased from freshman year until now. Yes, I was still covered in sweat, out of breath, and tired, but the ability to see a chapter of my life beginning to close and appreciating it, helped me continue going.
Honestly, there are a lot of things in life that you have to do even if you don’t like them. And maybe if you try to appreciate the individuality and uniqueness of every moment, they will pass more gently. You never know when you will be doing something for the last time, but if you appreciate everything as if you were doing it for the last time, you will probably find yourself smiling a lot more. Maybe if you found things funny instead of annoying, precious instead of guaranteed, you could begin to find even the most menial tasks more enjoyable.
