Enjoying Every Day
April 11, 2024
Writer: Julia Goldman
Editors: Jaz Seiden and Zoe Gellert
My dad ends each of our catch-up calls the same way: “Enjoy every day.” Our calls consist of my routine updates and, more often than not, my daily complaints. I complain about the classes I'm taking, the workload I'm bearing, the food I'm eating, and the list goes on and on. We talk for his entire commute home from work.
As someone who's almost a bit too old to be still classified as a teenage girl, I thoroughly enjoy any chance I get to complain. Though my dad sits idly by, supportively listening, he never fails to remind me that life is short. Although I am hesitant to admit, he is right.
Each day is filled with endless things to complain about, however, they end faster than we may realize, and it is up to us to overcome the urge to focus on the negative. With time, those simple things we complain about pass, but so do the fleeing moments of enjoyment, gone just as quickly.
My dad challenges me to enjoy every day because there will be a time (approaching scarily soon) when I don’t have any 9am lectures to complain about, when my responsibilities will be larger than those of a college student. While he does the most to prepare me for the “real world,” this reminder to find joy in my life is unequivocally important.
In the weeks leading up to the spring break of my fourth college semester, this realization of time's unexplainable ability to swiftly pass by hit me hard. It was the longest stretch of school that I could remember, and while three months away from home sounded light, I found myself staring at my Google Calendar, counting down the big events that had to pass before I could return home to my suburban New Jersey paradise.
I convinced myself that a couple of sorority events and my long-awaited Mexico trip would be over before I knew it. I caught myself in the reality of what I had just declared. I was so deeply absorbed in this complaint-focused mindset that I was excited for these moments to become memories before I was to enjoy them as they happened.
At that moment, I told myself to enjoy every day.
I was determined to enjoy every walk with my best friends to that class I hated the most. Enjoy every iced vanilla latte while locking myself in the corner of a coffee shop to study. Enjoy every conversation with my roommate trying to work at our side-by-side desks. And, enjoy those last few months of my sophomore year instead of dreading the working summer that follows it.
Life is about balance, and when we can balance the good with the bad, those complaints seem less significant, surrounded by all the positive moments. Every day isn’t perfect, and some may be worse than others, but I can guarantee that we all can find something to enjoy each and every day.