Take One Step at a Time.

Remember this post when I was rambling about the importance of enjoying every moment of my life and not just letting it pass me by? Well, yesterday I had one of those moments where I paused and realized that I needed to change some things.

This past weekend I didn't get close to enough homework done and started off the week behind, which is everyone's favorite feeling! I woke up Tuesday like I do most mornings, automatically running through my to-do list and schedule in my head before I can even take a moment to breathe. This is what my thoughts were sounding like yesterday: 

"Okay, I need to finish that personal narrative that is due today that I'm only half done with, and then I have weights, and then I'm not going to be able to run because I didn't finish my Book of Mormon reading so I'll have to read it on my phone while I do the elliptical..and then hopefully I'll have my narrative done by then..and then I'll go to class and then I have work, and then I'll go visiting teaching because it's the 28th and I've put it off all month, and then I'll start my homework and ugh today is going to be long."

Guys, I'm not joking. And this is basically how my day went. I went through my day, just thinking about the next thing I had to do as I walked from class to class. Here's the best part though: I got out of my English class at 1:20 and had to eat lunch and read 3 more chapters in the Book of Mormon before my class at 2.  So after waiting in the Subway line for 20 minutes, I had twenty minutes to shove a salad down my face and  read these 3 chapters. I scanned the crowded Cougareat, looking for an empty table and I found one so headed towards it quickly, and as I was about 5 feet away, I could tell another guy had the same idea as me. At this point, I decided that I just needed to sit at this table even if this guy was too because I didn't have time to find another one. As he went to sit down, I asked him if he minded if I sat there too and then I sat down, pulled out my salad, opened my laptop and hastily ate and read.

And I completely ignored him. We were literally sitting at a tiny square table together and after I sat down, I didn't say a single word to him. Not even, "Oh hi, I'm Cady and I'm so sorry to ignore you but I have homework due in 20 minutes!" Nope. Just hurried while he ate his 4 tacos from Taco Bell in silence. As I was walking to my next class in my classic speedwalking fashion, it hit me what had just happened. I literally slowed my pace down by about 50%, took a couple deep breaths, and kept walking, making sure to look up and smile at other people around me, taking in the beautiful day around me.

I was doing so well at the beginning of the semester at leaving for class a little bit earlier so I could walk more slowly, enjoying the scenery and life in general. But when life gets busier it's so easy to go into survival mode, thinking that I just have to survive the week until the weekend. But, guess what? The weekend is only 2 days long and trudging through 5 whole days just for those 2 days is a pretty lame way to live.

So, today I'm recommitting to living in the moment. I've caught up on homework (because procrastinating equals stress and stress does not equal living in the moment) and I'm setting my alarm 5 minutes earlier so I can slow down a little bit on the way to class, and I'm not going to think too far ahead. Because this life is beautiful and I want to savor every minute...even the minutes spent in the library or at work at 5:30 am. I also need to make sure I start my day off with a little chat with Heavenly Father rather than going straight to my mental to-do list (or Twitter...) and I'm going to end it the same way, but with a little bit of stretching and meditation first. What do you to eliminate stress and live in the moment a little more? I need all the help I can get!

Even though I do get a little bit lame during the week, I really do try to make the most of my weekends. Last weekend included two men's volleyball games, ice skating, trip to the temple, Costa Vida, and time spent with my lovely friends! If you guys missed it, I was featured (ha!) on BYUtv at the BYU vs. Stanford game... see, I told you I was a celebrity!

 Snapchat from one of our fans (I mean friends...)

Although we all look a little angry in this photo, I promise we had a good time. Here's a picture if you don't believe me:

Good friends, hot Stanford volleyball players, and a win for BYU...what's not to love?

Life is good, guys. I just need to remember that every single day. And every single moment.

Love, 

Cady

PS. Ten points to anyone who can guess the song that was the inspiration for this post title!