It was 7:03 p.m. when I found myself sitting alone on the curb in the West Lot.

As I sat awaiting my ride home, all I could think about was how monotonous life felt. After eight hours of school and an extra four put into extracurriculars, not only did this moment feel dull and gray, but the rest of my day had been just as colorless.

That was, until I looked up at the sky.

My eyes lit up as they reflected bursting pink and orange clouds. I sat there appreciating the sunset above me, letting the world around me become slightly less gray.

The sun sets every day, so why was this time any different?

Romanticizing one’s life is meant to make something, anything, feel better than it really is. Putting effort into making sure no moment feels like a waste of time is key to making even the most uninteresting of days feel much more worth living. 

In finding an extraordinary moment out of what had been a perfectly ordinary day, life suddenly felt a little more beautiful. 

And it does not only have to be a sunset either.

Whether it be doing a skincare routine, eating a piece of avocado toast, or even taking a regular old walk, it is the simple things that can be romanticized. On the surface, none of these examples seem particularly thrilling. Yet, dressing up your avocado toast with some extra spices, or setting the mood with a candle when you do your skincare, can make both that much more romantic. 

While these are specific, believing that something so common can be made beautiful  and  thrilling, but only if you choose to see it as such, can apply to all situations. 

As a student, most of my daily life is spent in school, meaning not every second feels great. Some routines I try to include for a slightly better experience, however, are going to the library to study for an aesthetic setting, or finding at least one thing to like about every class I have that day. Something I started this year especially is making playlists that make me feel more alive in the hallways.  

By adding these little perks to my day, school becomes a little easier to get through.

A philosophy I live by, from British writer Vivian Greene, is that life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, rather it is about learning how to dance in the rain. Nothing has made living up to this more possible than trying to romanticize my life. 

Too many people get caught up in all the gray moments in their lives, yet it is finding these parts that add a splash of color that makes every day worth living.