5 Guidelines to Living a More Enjoyable Life

1) Find something you love!
I believe that life is about passion. What is your passion in life? What do YOU love? What are YOU really interested in? What makes YOU happy? You must to find this thing or many things and take time out of your hectic life and immerse yourself in it. I love wine. There are few things more enjoyable to me than sitting outside with a glass of a new wine I have yet to taste and just enjoy the beauty of it as I munch on some of my favorite tapas.

2) Let it go...
What? Let what go?? EVERYTHING! What belongs in your past should not be burdening your present. What do you do to your computer if its been acting slow? You clean it out! Delete cookies, useless files, old junk you don't need to be saving any more. You must also do the same with your mind. Forget about the argument you had the other day, the bad grade you got last week, the person who cut you off in the middle of the road this morning, the wallet you lost six months ago. The time to worry about things that have happened was back when they happened! Wake up everyday anxious for what may come of it.

3) Release!
What may come of the day might not be as good as you wanted it to be... The boss grinding you at work, assignments piling up, you stubbed your toe in the kitchen walking around barefoot. There are many stresses in life, things do need to be taken care of. But you must also take care of yourself. Find something that makes you feel good and helps you relax. Whether its playing tennis, meditating, cooking, writing, or taking a 4 hour nap. your mind needs time to relax and reload... Its bad enough you probably don't get enough sleep at night anyways!

4) Be Positive
I hate negative people. I don't even want them to be around me. It rubs off! thinking positively is the only way you will ever get what you want. Do you think NASA got to the moon 'cause they didn't want to? Thomas Edison didn't invent the light bulb because he didn't believe he could! The french didn't make champagne by accident! ( Okay maybe that last one, yea) My point is if you want something - believe that you will get it. Know that you can achieve your goal. Get your mind in the right direction and you can have whatever you want.

5) The most important rule to enjoying life.
Your goals have come to fruition, you've discovered your passion. You may have everything you want in the WORLD, but you have NOTHING without someone to share it with. Somebody who is there with you through your most exhilarating adventures -- or your saddest moments. Your life will be full of both. No object or experience replaces your family, close friends, and the one you love. Make sure you bring them along on your journey. Life is not perfect and there is only one guarantee, but at least you were never alone.

Difference in a day

6:00 am – 29 degrees, dark, and windy
I left my classes, my books, my twin size bed. I erased the stress, the tension, and the thoughts in my head. My spontaneous Thursday evening decision to make a getaway to South Florida for the holiday was without a doubt the best I’ve made this year thus far. I hopped in my best friend’s car and after a long tedious night of packing and restless rolling in bed, quickly fell asleep…

1:01 pm — 80 degrees, blue skies, and gentle draft from the ocean
From classrooms, pencils, fast food, and leafless trees to royal palms, fine wine, Biscayne Bay, and it’s salty breeze. After seven hours of deep sleep I woke in another world. To my family’s surprise as they came home, they found me sitting in the kitchen eating a turkey sandwich from the half empty fridge. I was welcomed with open but unprepared arms. As I soon found my bedroom had been being used as “the empty, so put whatever in there room”. My big soft comfy bed I had been anxiously yearning to rest in was covered with folded laundry and some of my mother’s business stuff. So as my mother went shopping for groceries and my dad took his afternoon siesta, I set out for water.

5:50 pm – 71 degrees, pink sky from the falling sun, and calm
The closest body of water to Tallahassee, not including Westcott fountain, is over an hour away so I did not hesitate to take the five minute bike ride to the bay from my home. As I drew closer and closer to my favorite beach spot the scent of the sea in the air grew more and more intoxicating. My mind ran through fond memories of the ocean in my life: spear-fishing on coral reefs, boat trips to nearby islands, full-moonlit nights fishing for snook with my dad, and hours of just sitting on the rocks looking over the water. The beach spot by my house is a haven to me, a place where I can let go of reality and spend hours doing nothing but just unwind. The low rumblings of incoming boats, the Key Biscayne lighthouse in the distance, the echoes of a few squawking seagulls, the splash of the occasional eagle ray soaring out of the water. As my first day came to an end, as the sun set behind me, as the vibrant pink sky was draped over by the deep blue of a starry night; my mind was clear and my soul was calm.