With each year that passes by, the “life is short” feeling only becomes clearer to me. When I was young, I had that magical, invincible outlook about almost everything. I thought I had so much time. Thought nothing bad could ever happen to me or the people I love. Thought that it was okay to just let things be how they were supposed to be.
But I’m realizing now just how intentional I need to be with my life, and especially with the people I love and care about. When I was in high school, I always knew I wanted to leave Tennessee for college. I left my family and friends and moved to a state I had never been to before, which was really scary, but that will forever be one of the best decisions I ever made. I met all my best friends at the University of Miami, and the bond we’ve created for the past 11 years is truly something special.
The sad part about meeting all your friends in college is how everyone has a different path after graduation. There’s no central location where we all live, but instead we’re spread out in states across the country, like Minnesota, Texas, Michigan, California, Illinois, Florida, and a lot more.
Similar to what I did for college, when I moved to Minnesota, I knew no one aside from Myles. It’s been the most beautiful adventure as we bought a house, learned about the state, and met new friends that have become family. Still, we’re far from our real family and close friends, so it’s important for us to make an effort to keep our bonds strong and continue to make memories with our people.
So as I get ready to turn 29 and start the last year of my 20s, I’m looking at life a lot differently than I used to.
Life is short.
I really don’t have as much time as I once thought I did. Without getting too technical, let’s say I live to 90, God willing. That’s 60 years left. There’s some friends and family I only get to see once a year, if that. So that’s only 60 times left to see them in this life, making every single moment we are together that much more special.
This is the kind of thing I think about it when I get an invite from a friend or family member to a special event or just to come hangout one weekend. It takes a lot of time, money and energy to travel, and as cheesy as it may sound, the memories are truly priceless. It’ll one day be the stories I tell my future kids, grandkids and great grandkids when I recall all the fun I had in my life.
Bad things can happen.
And they do happen. People die young. People get into horrible accidents that change their lives. You fall out with people you thought you would be close to forever.
I no longer just think that I’m invincible from every bad thing that can happen to a person. I now know that I need to do my part to try to prevent bad things from happening while also being grateful for all the good, great and amazing things that make up my life.
Things will always turn out how they’re supposed to, but it’s on me to put the effort to try to make sure the end result is as close as possible to the way I want them to be.
I’ve always loved the concept of fate. I know it’s controversial, and some people hate it because they feel like it means they don’t have control of their own life, but that’s not how I look at it. When I think of fate, I think of how we don’t meet people by accident. Our days don’t unravel like how they do without meaning. There’s a reason behind every interaction and occurrence we have, although some reasons are more significant than others.
I think having this mindset might have made me a little lazy about certain parts of my life. Instead of putting in effort to change some outcomes, I would simply trust that the end result would work out like it’s supposed to. But that mindset isn’t fair to me or the people in my life.
When I was younger, I had so many thoughts and feelings that would go unsaid because I didn’t like to verbalize my feelings, didn’t want to bother people, and didn’t think it would matter anyway. Now, I say what I think all the time. I let people know when they’re amazing, how lucky I am to have them in my life, the joy they bring to my days, when they hurt my feelings, when things need to change. Everything.
I consider myself a pretty go with the flow person, but I think things through more now, because again, I look at each day as something really special. Whether it’s a lazy day at home, a night out with my best friends, or a day filled with errands to set future me up for success– I know I need to do my part to make sure my life turns out how I want it to be, as much as possible.
I was inspired to write today as I’m coming off a weekend trip to Houston to celebrate my close friend Kristie’s birthday. Due to all the important events that occurred in 2024, I got to see the people on this trip either 3 or 4 times this year, which is rare as we’re all working, busy adults. But as I was surrounded by so much love these past two days, it reminded me how important it is for me to be intentional about every aspect of my life as the years go by.
XOXO,
Crys
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