Taking Life for What it is…

I am the type of person who is always looking to the future. Always thinking about what coming next. Never enjoying what life has to offer. Never taking advantage of the here and now.

Well, I was on the phone with my sister today, who lives in Georgia. Just talking about how boring my life is and how I couldn’t wait to get to the next stage. I was complaining about how slow time was moving. In the middle of my rant, she interrupted me.

“You live in Japan! What do you mean your life is boring?”

I paused. I hadn’t thought about it like that and I realized that I was letting life pass me by for no reason. This Florida girl was on the biggest adventure of her life and has new opportunities to learn about other cultures. Every single day. Yet I was complaining about being ready to move and start the next phase.

My high school self, who had never even been to an airport, would have slapped me silly for wasting such a precious opportunity. Sure, it was exciting when I first moved here three years ago, but why had I let the excitement die? Why had I allowed myself to grow so complacent?

This was a lesson I am so thankful I learned today instead of a month or a year from now. When it would be too late to enjoy today. So from now on, I plan to take life for what it is and stop worrying about the future.