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The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SBU chapter.

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”

This is a line from the wondrous song “Beautiful Boy” by John Lennon. As this song has become my most recent obsession that I am constantly playing over and over, this is the line that always sticks out to me. After these words flow into my ears, I find myself sitting back and literally contemplating my life. 

Every day, I constantly look for the “next best thing to do” and I know that many people can relate. Whether I’m doing something small like homework or eating a meal, or something more significant like spending time with friends and family, I find myself repeatedly thinking about what’s to come. Instead of enjoying moments for what they are, I stress and wonder what the next moments will look like.

These lyrics are such a wake-up call. Life is literally right outside your door waiting for you to knock. While I’m busy thinking ahead of myself, I am not appreciating the little things happening throughout my day. Life is about being present in the moment because those little things are actually not little at all; they are the big things. And by making new plans or focusing too much on other things, you can miss out on the unexpected magic of life. 

Some of my best memories have been sharing heartfelt conversations through the hours of the night with my best friends, going on drives blasting music with my sister, attempting to play video games while my brothers coach me, and having TV days with my dad while binging countless episodes of “Bar Rescue.” If I had been too preoccupied with my next plans, I would have never even been able to make these memories that now mean so much to me. 

Sometimes we are so caught up in planning for the future that we forget to live in the present. But life doesn’t stop for us. Real life happens in the moments we’re not expecting.

The average human life is around 80 years. 29,000 days. 696,000 hours. 41,760,000 minutes. 2,505,600,000 seconds. This is all the time we have to experience life here on this floating rock that we call home. Every single one of these 2,505,600,000 seconds matters. Don’t spend them not living life to the fullest.

When my time is up, I hope to say that I got to experience all that life brings because I wasn’t too busy making other plans. Will you?

Ella Steinwandel is a new Her Campus chapter member at St. Bonaventure University. Ella is excited to write about self-care, trends, lifestyle, beauty, and friendships! She can't wait to put her passion for writing to use and meet all of the other writers and girls in this chapter! Ella is currently a freshman majoring in marketing with hopes to work in the beauty marketing field after her years at St. Bonaventure. She loves to be involved in everything going on at her school. In addition to Her Campus, Ella is a member of the Power Yoga Club, SBU@SPCA, and the Dance Team. She is also very eager and excited to discover more clubs and organizations on campus! In her free time, you can most likely find Ella journaling, watching a new series on Netflix, listening to all kinds of music, and hanging out with her friends. Her friends and family are the most important to her, as she will eagerly talk about them at any chance she can! Ella loves to travel and explore new places and she loves to be outside and active, discovering new things, especially on the new campus she calls home, St. Bonaventure!