What Was

Lingering in the past is inevitable in many ways, but it’s important to recognize when that lingering can interfere with the present. It’s all of our past experiences and lessons learned that mold us into who we are today, so remembering these and sometimes relishing in them is a natural and normal process. The memories of fun had, travels to beautiful places, connections with beautiful people and those humorous times that make you laugh out loud anytime you think about it are special gems that feed positivity into the present.

But there are those times when the past can negatively affect our present, and even future, moments. Forgiveness is something I have always been so naturally able to accomplish in any situation I’ve been in thus far. From parental issues and bad roommate scenario to friendships and disagreements, life is known to be full of tongue biting, hair pulling and trying times for us all. But, what you do with these moments can define the type of person you will be in the future. It’s such a healing, cleansing and relieving feeling when the tension of grudges or hurt feelings are lifted from the soul with the simple act of forgiveness. The ability to forgive and forget has even been said to improve longevity.

What Is

The moment. It is the one thing that is ever present within and without us. It is where we find love, create works of art, make friends, gain knowledge and thrive in every aspect of life. The here and now, the somewhere between the past and the future, is being in the moment. It can often be one of life’s hardest elements when we find ourselves so consumed in the chaotic excitement of everyday life, the whirlwind of getting from here to there and all the in between. However, I have found that student life actually allows for a lot of time spent in the moment. For example, learning new things in class, studying for hours on end, and after it all, sitting in silence staring at a wall because your brain is dead and your body utterly exhausted are all elements of being a student that really bring us into the present moment. How hard is it to learn something or actually study when your off day dreaming about yesterday or tomorrow? It’s impossible, at least for me.

What Will Be

Whether you’re a republican, a democrat, or nothing at all, after this election, I think we have all found ourselves questioning what the future will hold. And not only that, but as students, we are questioning what the future holds for us and all the hard work we are doing now to make a successful future for ourselves. The future can be a trying thing to think about, especially when the world’s going coo coo, and all of a sudden Trump’s president and we have like not even a month left of school?!! I mean, it’s kind of making me feel slightly crazy.

I have learned over the years that it is important to think about the future, but in a way that will inspire you and encourage you to keep going even in hard times. Sometimes it’s okay to say f*ck it, I don’t know what the future holds, but that’s okay because I am happy right now.

It is the now that will determine our future, and the past that got us to this moment. I am a firm believer in karma, that what you do onto others will be done onto you. We must be kind to each other and ourselves in this moment, even if we haven’t in the past, that’s ok! As I said before, forgiveness in a big part of the path to happiness and peace. After the last two crazy, scary weeks, I think we are settling into the reality of it all, and that’s good. But we must always remember to love and be kind to our fellow brothers and sisters, and ourselves, in this moment and every moment to come. Because when you drop the bull shit and really go down deep, we are all one, and all our future has to become the place we want it to be.

Collegian writer Ashley Haberman can be reached at blogs@collegian.com. Leave a comment!!