To Truly Experience

So, the lockdown happened. It's a whole new year entirely, as we've moved onto 2021 already. A whole deadly pandemic swept the Earth; a modern plague took place in our lives, although unfortunately most of us only ever truly pondered quarantine when we were hearing about the Black Plague Epidemic that took place in Europe in Social Studies or when sitting in front of zombie-killing action video games. So, so much was taken quite abruptly from our grasp, showing us honestly what it was like to lose. RIP to those who lost a loved one to COVID. Well, I'm here to spread some advice I think you should take when dealing with the rest of the lockdown that may make you a little more optimistic or at least appreciative of your life right now.

You'll never realize what you've got until you've lost it.

This was my motto a few years back when I was going through things I shan't discuss at the moment, but I feel it applies now more than ever; I made an effort to spread the word quickly to everyone I knew, to look at the people they loved and tell them how appreciative they are of them and what they do. It wasn't even a matter of valuing materialistic things, but rather the people, the memories, the emotions shared between individuals. Now that everybody is just… falling out….I think it matters most that you tell them truly how you feel.

See the world in 4K HD.

Life is too short to not see the colors, hear the sounds, feel the emotions. COVID proves that threefold. There is so much on this little floating planet; this rocky island suspended in a seemingly infinite void of dark matter that we look up to the night sky and call space. There’s so much to see, so much to learn and discover, so many places to go; new things to try and experience. Did you know that there are an estimated 97 million songs released in the world officially? Just songs and music alone. That’s a whole lot of music to listen to & experiment with! All of the colors in your sight can be so saturated and vibrant. Once you actually accept the fact that there’s so much to see and do, you’ll understand you can’t just sit around wasting your precious time.

You only have one life, with only so much time. Do it. Now.

Even if you believe in reincarnation, there’s such a limited time to experience this plane of existence halfway between our own versions of heaven and hell. Although with such limited time, humans have managed to create so many fascinating and important things. You can’t spend your time watching YouTube compilation videos of the most beautiful cities on Earth through a phone screen. Instead, go out and get a job. Make some money, and buy that plane ticket. Give yourself everything so that nobody can take it away from you. Our lives are so fragile, just falling the wrong way could cut it short. How would you feel if you looked at a recap of your life when you die, and all you see are vivid memories of your body and consciousness wasting away under the blankets. You didn’t go out to make anything for yourself or make anything of yourself, and now you get to have that dissatisfaction. Ask your questions. Speak your mind and peace. Mind your fitness and health. Pick up that pencil and start doodling, start writing. Start scribbling, even. Your best friend you’ve had feelings about for a really long time? Yeah, I know you know who I’m talking about. Hug them. Cook for them. Take them on a date. Tell them you love them. You’ll never know how they feel until you try, and doubt kills so many opportunities.

Mind yourself. After all, you’re the only person you have right now.

No, right off the bat I’ll answer that nobody will stay around forever. I will also tell you that you’ll be stuck in your head with your thoughts for the rest of your days. Nobody can save you from those, albeit good or bad thoughts. It won’t be very enjoyable nor easy to be trapped in a cartilage box with your mental demons overwhelming you. Instead, take control. Understand that this is your body and only yours, regardless of what any other human on the face of this planet says. You can dress how you want. You can do makeup if you want. You can do your makeup however you want. You can speak your mind, no matter who’s feelings it hurts. Choose what you want to eat today. Go workout and improve your physical health. Do something to prove ownership of yourself, to yourself. I promise you nobody can stop you now baby.

Cut. Them. Off.

Your "friend" giving you shady snakey vibes? Your boyfriend going behind your back lying about it? Your girlfriend sleeping around? Guess what you do? You cut them off and move on. Allow me to reiterate, YOU cut them off. If they make you feel any type of way less than how you deserve to be treated, then off with them. Removing the bad apples prevents the whole batch from turning bad. Don’t just put up with it because you’re told you don’t have a choice. This is where you stand up from your seat and strut out like somebody’s going to stop you. They don’t have the NERVE. You are untouchable. You don’t need that toxicity and negativity surrounding you, because there is never a toxic situation that goes right and according to plan. Instead, you show them who’s REALLY running things around here, and you show them what exactly they’re missing out on, but don’t move weirdly. Things take time, and good things take even longer.

Focus on your schoolwork PLEASE.

I hate to say it because I understand how annoying it is, how school is nowadays. I understand it all. But I also understand that without your basic education, you could literally be nothing in life. Right now is the best time to do it, too. You have no excuses as to why you can't or won't, and literally every waking moment in your day to be productive. You can choose not to, yes. There is a time and place for everything, yes. But, you also need to prioritize. Your education won’t learn itself. Your fitness won’t improve itself. But you can put down the effort and it can and will be achieved. It only takes a few years of studying before you can pursue the rest of your life. All your freedom comes as the repercussions of your beneficial actions.

Finally, WEAR YOUR MASKS.

I need each and every one of you beautiful human beings to understand how dangerous and real this virus is. It’s mutating every few weeks into something worse, becoming transmittable and more dangerous as time ticks by. Wearing a small piece of cloth or fabric over your mouth and nose shouldn’t be a very big price to pay in exchange for saving your own life and very possibly other’s lives as well. Even though we can be authoritarian every so often, one thing the government has right is its mandate for masks. They don’t pass these orders to torture or harm you in any way, but rather to protect you and save others. It’s important that you stay safe.

If you are to take any of my advice, take it all together. Apply it all at once, and watch how effective the results are. I won’t go too much in detail with it, but I was forced to grow up fast as I suffered through many adversities with my family. One of the first life lessons I learned on my own that really contributes to my peace now is that I realize I don’t acknowledge or truly appreciate what I have until I am reminiscing on a memory of what once was but never will be again. This has made me grow to appreciate every little thing. The warmth of the sunbeams on a cloudless chilly winter day; the alien colors of the sky behind dark beautiful skeletons of trees as dawn rises; the way the brown in his eyes change shades in the light, as the corners of them wrinkle when he laughs. I mean, who doesn’t love a beautiful sunset?