Live While We're Young

A whole lot of Thursdays ago, I went to my first away high school swim meet.

I was way excited for it — I mean, I had been waiting for years for this moment and it was finally happening.

Truth is, it didn't go that great.  I mean, I swam fine, but I had definitely done better in the past and I was kind of disappointed.

But not for a second was I sad.  No, I didn't even have the chance to be sad because I was having so much fun.

That whole night, I didn't stop laughing.  During the bus ride, at the pool, in the locker room, I was having fun from the minute I left school to the minute the bus pulled up to the high school.

That Thursday, I went to my first away high school swim meet, and it made me realize something — there are things a lot more important than what we seem to think is important.

For the longest time, I thought only two things mattered in my life: school and swimming, and that those were the only two things I had time for.

When I wouldn't do well at a swim meet, or on a test, I would get sad about it.  I would think it was the end of the world.  But as it turns out, getting an A- in second quarter of sixth grade choir isn't the worst thing that could happen.

I think people being extremely dedicated to school is a great thing.  Never doing anything else because you're always studying isn't such a good thing.

Applying yourself fiercely to something like school or a sport is an amazing thing, but it's not worth forgetting every other aspect of your life that's just as amazing.

Friends, family, and making memories is what I think really matters.  Sure, having a 4.0 in high school is a phenomenal accomplishment, but if it stopped you from going to a concert with your best friend that would have been the funnest night of your life, is it really that important?

I know it's been said before but it's true: life is short.  I'm pretty young still, but already I can't believe how much of my life has gone, flying before my eyes, and this is my fault.  Every Monday I wait for the weekend, every first day of school I wait for Summer, nearly every aspect of my life I'm just waiting for something seemingly "better" to come along.

When we're young, we have our whole lives ahead of us, and we can dream about it all we want.  I'm a freshman in high school now, and its starting to hit me that the rest of my life is starting now.  I've been waiting my whole life to be in high school, and now that I'm in it, I'm really not that impressed.  Turns out, high school isn't all that it's made out to be.

When we're young we have no idea what's coming.  We can daydream about the rest of our lives all we want, and have a five year plan, but we can't account for what's actually going to happen.  Unexpected things happen everyday, so it's we're being unfair to ourselves to try to plan for what's going to happen.

I mean look at these kids:

Photo Credits

They're just chilling out on some rock pillows, dreaming about dreams without a care in the world.  I think we (by we I mean anyone anywhere that has any stress) should try to live a little more like that. After all, you only get one chance at life, and I know, at least for me, when I'm eighty and on my death bed, I don't want to have any regrets.

When the time comes, I don't want anything that I wish I had done.  I don't want to have left a stone unturned, a sight unseen, a long way home untaken.

I guess the root of what I'm trying to say is that there are a lot of things that are important.  I mean, I guess I believe that every aspect of your life is important to some extent.

So I guess this is me trying to tel you to make the most of your life.  Life is just too short to not be enjoying yourself every minute that you possibly can.

Elise :)