THIS is the best time of your life

Where ever you are in life I genuinely think that it is the best time in your life and that everything you are doing is important and you are being the best person you possibly can. I don't think that any one time period in our lives can be seen as the one and only "best" time in our lives. Let me explain why this is on my mind and why I feel so strongly about it.

Throughout the years I have heard people say that Junior High was the worst time of their life. This has always confused me, because for me Junior High was actually an okay time. I was finding myself just a little bit. Yeah I had acne (I still do, that stuff doesn't go away just because you are an 'adult') and I started puberty, but I was a lucky duck. I wasn't ostracized and yeah I did have some hurtful interactions but I also made some great friends. I am still friends with a lot of those people although we've all gone our own ways. I always look back on Junior High with fondness. It definitely was a hard time, but it also was the best time in my life up to that point. I was trying new things and trying to figure out who I was. If I'm completely honest with myself Junior High is where my love for current events and learning about them truly started (thank you NAL). I wouldn't trade those experiences for anything in the world. Would I go back to relive my Junior High years? Heck to the No. But I don't look back on them as the worst time in my life, because at that time they were truly the best years of my life.

High School. As I have entered college and listened to the opinions of those around me I am increasingly under the impression that they disliked their friends in high school and wouldn't really keep track of a lot of them. And that High School wasn't their favorite time in life. Which is interesting to me because I actually liked High School. Okay, let's be honest, there are some of us who live in the High school 'glory days' and some of us who would rather not even think about that time in our lives. I am part of neither camp. I don't live in High School, but I also think about it often and what I learned from High School. When I was in High School it was genuinely the best time in my life. I loved High School. I loved the challenge I received from AP classes, from my various clubs and I loved the environment. I know people who couldn't wait to get out of there (which when I was in High School was mind boggling, You want to be an adult sooner?) and those who wanted to live in High School forever (also mind boggling, 17 year old boys are just that boys. And high school can also be REAAALLLY limiting).

I lived my life like it was the best time of my life, with the knowledge that I had to do well, because, you know, real life was coming soon. But High School really was one of the best times of my life. I made some of my very best friends in High School and we still hang out when we are all in the same city for more than an evening. At least those of us who aren't on missions do. The people I met in High School are still among those I turn to for advice (as well as my roommates) and those I turn to in times of distress. I love those people and wouldn't trade them for the world. I also wouldn't trade my High School experience for the world because it began to shape me into the person I am today and also helped me to realize who I truly am even a little bit more.

As I have contemplated this subject over the last couple of weeks there are a couple things that you have to realize. first of all my life has never been just buttercups and daisies, sunshine and happiness. No. I have struggled and I have had hard times, but I like to think of myself as an optimistic person, and as such those trials have only helped me to grow. and second, I'm not always an optimistic person and there were times in both junior high and high school where I was highly discouraged and all wanted was out.

I think that when people say that a time in their lives was "the worst time of my life" a lot of the time it is because they were looking forward and saying I want to be here, so they couldn't live in and enjoy the moment they were actually living in. The greatest thing a person can do to be in the 'best time of your life' is to actually be living in the moment and not wanting to be living in another moment. And yes there may be better times in your life to come. But for now, the moment you are living in is the best moment of your life. and that's all you can really hope for.

Find joy in the moment, even if the moment is tough, because that's how we can live happy lives and also how we can learn new things about ourselves. As a quote I found recently said:
"Stop waiting for Friday, for summer, for a someone to fall in love with you, for life. Happiness is achieve when you stop waiting for it and make the most of the moment you are in now."

And that perfectly sums up what I think today. Seize the moment now. Because THIS IS THE BEST TIME OF YOUR LIFE. Believe it and make it so.