It is funny how your day starts awful. Full of pain, anxiety, and frantics. It seems as if the day is lost beyond redemption. Then you hear a voice of a friend you have not heard from in a while, get a message from someone who cares, or share a meal with your closest friends. Advil alleviates pain, but friends lift anxieties and worries. You leave for college and it takes a while but then you realize how much you miss those family dinners. A time to talk, laugh, sympathize, vent, and in short go to therapy. These moments help me to focus on what is really the important part of the day. Those little short term goals of getting to work on time, getting all your homework done, and keeping to a schedule do not seem to matter near as much as those two hours of companionship, that phone call from your grandmother or friend, or hugs from people you have the pleasure to call soul friends. I believe these are people who have carved a special place in your heart where they will always be welcome. I am lucky to have such people in my life and every one of you has a slightly different role in my heart. This day would not have turned around if not for you. For me, it is the single days and moments that are to be treasured. I'll end with part of the poem Desiderata by Max Ehrmann which has so much wisdom.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.