To Stressed College Students: Lose Yourself In Life

By Ashton Lineberry on October 12, 2015

We have lost ourselves.

We have lost ourselves to the hustle and bustle of college work. We have lost ourselves to busy days and sleepless nights. We have lost ourselves to a planner filled with a fixed schedule. We have lost ourselves to the nostalgia of past experiences and high school friends. We have lost ourselves to endless scrolling on social media and material desires. We have lost ourselves to overthinking, overanalyzing, and extreme stress. We have lost ourselves to worrying about today, tomorrow, and years from now.

But by losing ourself, we can find ourself.

As I was sitting outside on a campus bench waiting for a friend, I watched people pass to and from class. I watched some of them reluctantly lug overloaded book bags across campus with frowns cemented to their face. I immediately felt their pain. I knew what it was like to literally be overloaded with work. I knew what it was like to be so overwhelmed. I knew what it was like to dread the day ahead of me. But what I didn’t know, what I had never realized, was that I had ever been so unhappy. But their faces proved to me that I had been.

It was there, watching my stone faced peers, that I realized that most of us had lost who we truly were.

We had lost our sleep due to endless nights of homework. We had lost our peace due to the endless worrying about grades and degrees. We had lost our confidence due to media and beauty standards. We had lost our unique quirks due to fitting in with the crowd. We had lost our happiness to the toils of life.

We had lost our happiness …

But it was there I also realized we had lost ourselves to the toils of life rather than life itself.

As I sat there, watching, the cold autumn breeze shook hundreds of leaves to the ground, waking me up. As it rained red, orange, and yellow, I was suddenly overwhelmed by beauty.

And then I looked around; and what I saw was magnificent.

I saw the brilliant green grass and stunning blue sky. I saw beautifully colored trees; trees that had withstood year after year, storm after storm. I saw a ton of tall, stone buildings, hundreds of feet high, creating a majestic, castle-like feeling. I saw fluffy gray squirrels scurry across the ground, hopping happily to and fro. I saw the cobblestone pathways and the worn picnic tables. I saw the sun’s rays shining through the trees. I heard the whisper of the breeze through the trees and the song of the birds in the air. I felt the cold, crisp breeze of autumn on my skin.

And as I looked around, I lost myself in life.

And from there, I learned.

I learned that we should lose ourselves not in the hardships and materials of the world, but in the beauty of life. We should lose ourselves in the beautiful starry sky and a colorful pile of leaves. We should lose ourselves in the sound of beautifully crafted music or the amazing adventure of a book. We should lose ourselves in a warm hug or in the kisses from younger siblings. We should lose ourselves by a hot, cracking fireplace or in a relaxing bubble bath. We should lose ourselves in the vastness of the ocean or the height of a mountain. We should lose ourselves in the magic of the world. We should lose ourselves in laughter and love. We should lose ourselves in endless possibility, in dreams, and in imagination.

Sure, life is definitely not easy. But my God, it’s beautiful.

A few days ago, I lost myself in life.

I couldn’t be any happier.

I recommend the same to you.

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