There’s nothing quite like hearing about the sadness of another person’s situation that makes you want to re-evaluate your own. Regardless of whether or not you know an individual who has personally been affected by a terrible event in their life, it makes you wonder about the precious time we all have left here with each other. And that really is the bottom line after all, spending the time we have with the people that we love.

This reality has become all that more clear to me while living halfway across the world from the people I care most about. To think that anything tragic could happen to one of these people at any given point in time scares me, but I know there’s nothing I can do about it. The one thing I can do from my place here is to let you all know that I care and that I’m thinking about you, and even if I don’t manage to send you a postcard or text message, know that you’re still in the back of my mind.

I’m not into “YOLO” or “Carpe diem” so much as I am about doing what I love to do. For me, that means just as much as “seizing the day.” I love to have fun and I can be spontaneous and crazy at times, but that kind of attitude has taken on a new meaning for me here. Some people’s abroad experience is about drinking in a foreign country – legality at it’s finest – and that’s just fine with me. But I came to the realization that I’m not going to remember partying anyways, so what’s really the point? The point is, have fun with your friends and experience the culture in a way that you can’t at home. I’m all about that. But I don’t feel the need to be extreme about it, jeopardize my health and wallet, and be known for something that I’m really not.

I think about the book “Tuesdays With Morrie” a lot. This is a book a first read in 7th or 8th grade, came back to at the end of senior year when I was coming to terms with a death in my own life, and now again, just to gain some perspective. The words of Morrie Schwartz spoke to me a long time ago as they still do now: accepting the things you cannot change, learning to die so you can learn to live, and giving out love so you can let it come in.

We could all take a moment in our day when we put things into perspective. With birthdays coming up, instead of dreading the fact that we may be growing another year older, we could be thankful to have the opportunity. When life gets ahead of us, it’s important to know we’re actually present on the earth and that we have the chance to try again the next day. The things we sometimes get wrapped up in are pretty insignificant on the whole. I think we could all use a reminder of that.

On that note – enjoy the rain, clouds, sunshine, moonlight, or whatever it is you see outside your window today.

All my love.