It’s Important to Live, Not Just Survive

Written By Contributor Writer Heather Clark

“The older you get, the faster time goes.”

We’ve heard it from our parents, our grandparents, and our guardians for as long as we can remember. As a kid, I never truly believed it. I wanted to grow up and drive my own car after having an unforgettable “Sweet Sixteen” birthday party. I wanted to go off to college, set my own rules, and walk with a pep in my step knowing I’m Miss Independent. I was ready to take on the world. After I stopped dreaming and these circumstances actually became reality, I quickly realized that growing up isn’t all rainbows and sunshine. Along with maturity comes struggle, hardships, and a waterfall worth of tears that we don’t necessarily see coming. However, at the end of the day we have to get through it. We have to tackle our troubles or place them aside in order to finish the day feeling accomplished.

As time quickly passes by us, we need to hold on to the moments we have on this Earth with every breath we take. Every once in awhile, we should stop and take a moment to truly appreciate the fact we are living. We have the opportunity to grow into amazing individuals and make an impact on those around us. We have the chance to travel the world, embrace ourselves in the beauty of it, and capture those memories in our hearts forever – maybe even rent a private jet to set you off on your globetrotting journeys, just imagine the possibilities. Although we may endure heartbreak, we can fall in love. It may take endless interviews and thoughts of failure, but we can find our dream job. Our plans won’t always go accordingly, but that doesn’t mean we can’t try again. Darkness can sometimes overcome the light in our life, but we can’t stop searching for it. We have to keep going. We have to live and not survive.

What exactly is surviving?

Aside from placing food on the table and having a home to reside in, surviving is getting through another day. It’s picking yourself up, finishing what you need to get done, and lying down in bed to do it all over again the next day. Surviving is what we all need to do. However, only surviving will most likely deprive us from the utmost happiness in life. Time keeps going by and so does our lives.

As I said before, it’s time we start living. This world has so much to offer and it’d be foolish not to take advantage of it. Learn new things, talk about your darkest secrets to people you trust, laugh, travel, take risks, invest in the people you love, take a road trip, and do something different. Break outside of the ordinary and engage in something exciting. Promise yourself that you will not let your life fly by without doing the things you love. In my opinion, that is very important.

Don’t Settle

Don’t settle with repetitiveness and being bored with your day-to-day routine. I understand there are obligations that hold us back from exploring the world or spending quality time with the ones we love. We must go to school or work, pay the bills, and simply take care of ourselves. It’s a given we can’t drop everything at the snap of a finger and forget about all of our responsibilities. However, we also can’t forget to appreciate what we have even in the simplest of times. We need to recognize the life we our living and value the life that we’ve had.

When a certain aspect of your life gets difficult, time is not going to stop. It will always keep going. As human beings, we have to adjust to that. In the midst of adjusting, we also need to appreciate what we are offered. We have to take advantage of the fact we are living and search for the happiness in any situation.

So laugh often, cry when it’s needed, and love like you’ve never loved before. Experience what you want to experience and get outside of your comfort zone. Do not wait until the last minute to live excitingly and be thankful for everyday you have on this Earth. Most importantly, as you’re doing what is necessary in order to survive, do not forget to live.