it's simple.

today being a slow day at work, i found myself reading through old posts on this little blog... and decided to start from the very beginning. with little breaks here and there throughout the day, i've read almost a year's worth, and can't begin to explain the feelings my heart is harboring at this very moment. with the new stresses of "the real world," sometimes it's easy to forget or not appreciate your past, and all you've done that's led up to you being, you. in this moment. to read about those nights in italy that were jammed full of studying, projects, and nutella, or relive a thought or feeling i felt while exploring a new corner of the world... it kind of puts everything in perspective, and makes today's "stress" quite frankly seem pointless.

 

 i would never want to come off as a person who has a lot, or who has had more opportunities than others... because that isn't the case at all. it isn't that i have a lot. it isn't that twin and i have a lot. it isn't that my friends or family have a lot... it's what we make of what we do have. i don't know where i learned this, or when, or how... but i'm so happy that i did. and that i know this view on the world will never leave me, it's instilled in me. and i'll only be able to share it and pass it on to those who want to believe in it, too.

because of how crazy the new york city life can be, i've come to a realization that it's the simple things, the small things, that will leave an impression on my life. it's those things that truly matter. life is about living for and in the moment, and making that moment the most it can be. for me, this means missing a train to snatch an unbelievable shot of the sunset...even when i'm tired from a long day at work. this means walking ten blocks to a farther subway stop, just so i can people watch and breathe in the seasonal changing air. this means waiting for twin in the morning, even if it leads to being a few minutes late to work...just so we can have those extra minutes together before spending ten hours apart. it means dropping an extra hundred dollars that you may not technically have, just to squeeze in a trip home where the leaves actually change colors. it means drinking tea with your favorite show, trying new recipes, and complimenting the people you care about. it means telling the people close to you that what they do matters. it means taking the time to do and feel the things that 40 years from now... you'll know mattered. because it is those moments, those simple, pure, raw, blissful ones... that make you who you are. it's those ones you'll remember.

so who do you want to be? someone bitter? someone selfish? someone constantly in a rush? someone who makes excuses not to be happy? sometimes, it can seem easier to be these things. it takes a lot less effort to be this person. but you're not really living if you're this person. you're just breathing. you're just alive. so...chase your dreams like they're the finish line, laugh until it seriously hurts, and take the time to tell the ones you love that you love them. make goals. make wishes. take chances on them. believe they'll come true.

and maybe...they will.