University life in today’s day and age is known to be way more stressful than when our parents and grandparents were completing their education. The peer pressure, the level of competition, and the risk of unemployment, have reached new heights and has placed a lot of unnecessary strain on university students. In trying to escape the hellish workload, we hunt through our imaginations for a grand escape, or a de-stressor that could help lighten our loads. One crucial point that’s often overlooked though, is that life’s biggest pleasures can be found in some of the littlest things. There’s no need to pile on the stress while trying to find ways to cool off because the answer is sitting at the tips of our noses…
Everybody has something or someone that helps them to get by, and makes the hardships worth it. As for me, the list could go on for days, but here’s a shortlisted version of 15 things that brighten my day no matter what the situation is:
1) Looking out of the window after an all-nighter and watching the sunrise paint the sky vivid shades of orange, red, pink, and purple.
2) Watching dust float around in the gap between your curtains that somehow accentuates the sunlight spilling into your room.
3) Finally singing the right lyrics to that song on the radio that you’re obsessed with.
4) When your torrent speed triples out of nowhere and your movie is ready to watch.
5) Getting a haircut and having it turn out exactly as you’d imagined.
6) Having an intense food craving and realizing it isn’t too late in the day to order in.
7) Puppies, puppies, puppies (or kittens, if you’re a cat person).
8) Realizing there’s just enough cereal and/or milk left for you.
9) The smell of old books (bear in mind that I am referring to the non-academic kind).
10) Spotless public washrooms.
11) Small victories like being the only one in your family that can unclog that toilet in your house #thingsuniversitycantteachyou.
12) The first snowfall of the year (no matter how much you despise the rest of the season, you’re always filled with childlike excitement on the first day).
13) When someone holds the door open for you.
14) When someone thanks you for holding the door open for them.
15) And finally, cashiers and sales associates that strike up friendly conversation with you.
I’ll leave you with a quote by Frank A. Clark:
“Everyone is trying to accomplish something big, not realizing that life is made up of little things.”
If you have anything you’d want to add on to this list, hit us up with a comment!
