AMANDA GAHLER PHOTO EDITOR
As my 21st birthday came and went last week, I had a lot of thoughts on my mind: What have I accomplished in my 21 years of living? What contributions have I made toward the greater good? Or, as Pastor Brian put it last week, what “story” have I been living?
I’ve had 21 sets of 365 opportunities to do some marvelous, meaningful things. I wish I could tell you exactly the 7665 opportunities I’ve taken advantage of so far, knowing that at the same time, I have so many more of those opportunities ahead of me.
My grandma passed away this summer and at her funeral we talked of her life and what she accomplished in all those days, weeks, months and years. We all agreed that her most notable achievement was having one of her eight kids in school (kindergarten through 12th grade) for 34 years straight! In addition, she worked four jobs to make ends meet.
I asked myself, “How did she do this?” What strength, patience, and determination it must have taken.
As we started singing one of her favorite hymns, “One Day At a Time”, it all made sense.
What if we all took this approach to our lives? Just one day at a time.
It seems so simple. Yet as we fall into the daily grind of classes, homework and extracurriculars, can this mere thought help make us more successful? Can we all help each other out in little ways every day?
Now after 21 years of chances, I’ve decided to focus on doing one positive, meaningful thing everyday.
I’m not talking a big thing like ending world hunger, as awesome as that would be; I mean more like holding the door open for a person with their hands full, offering to walk someone to class or sitting by someone new at lunch.
I challenge you to see how you can carry out great moments one day at a time. Let me know how it goes!