True self-care is not bath salts and chocolate cake, it’s making the choice to build a life you don’t need to escape from.
- Brianna Wiest
We always say, “I miss the good old days.” But the thing about it is, these days are good. We just do not see the good in the day. So this year, I made a vow to appreciate every single day and to see the good, no matter how big or small. Cheesy? Maybe so.
I get to toggle through my crazy, nonstop life and pinpoint the moment I felt the happiest from that day. Whether that moment lasted 5 hours or 5 minutes or even 5 seconds, I was still happy.
Every night before I turn off my lights to go to bed, I reflect on my day and write “The Best Thing” that happened to me that day. Some days, I want to write about a million events of that day, from hanging out with my friends to eating the most ~divine~ meal. Other days, I struggle for 20 minutes to think of one interaction I liked, when all I did was study the entire.. freaking.. day (#Shoutout Clem 1).
But that’s the beauty of “The Best Thing.” I get to toggle through my crazy, nonstop life and pinpoint the moment I felt the happiest from that day. Whether that moment lasted 5 hours or 5 minutes or even 5 seconds, I was still happy.
Here is a peek at the “The Best Things” that happened to me over the past couple of months:
8/16/20 “Watching sunrise on the beach”
8/26/20 “Running into Mel for a walk”
8/31/20 “All eating dinner together as a house”
9/3/20 “Tennis with Jack, Cece, and Mel”
9/6/20 “Studying at the communal table”
9/9/20 “Submitting my first paper”
9/10/20 “Car ride to Dewey Beach, singing at the top of lungs with Grace”
9/12/20 “Swimming in the ocean”
I don’t have to miss the good old days anymore, because I now know I’m still in them.
How can “watching the sunrise at the beach” be equivalent to “studying at the communal table?” The answer is... it’s not. I promise you, watching the sunrise was WAY better than studying, but they both still were objectively good. By reflecting on and writing about “The Best Thing,” I don’t have to miss the good old days anymore, because I now know I’m still in them.
P.S. Seven billion people experienced today in a different way, and that’s really freaking cool. Let your today be good.
