Lucy M.
Photography by Catherine White.
If you’re reading this, know that there is no such thing as a meaningless day.
I know that may seem impossible to believe sometimes. There are mornings when the world feels dull before I’ve even gotten out of bed. Afternoons that blur together so completely that I couldn’t tell you what I actually did. Some nights, the silence almost convinces me that nothing important could have possibly come from the day I just lived through.
But I refuse to believe that's true, and I hope you won’t either.
We spend so much time waiting for life to become extraordinary that we forget we’re already living it. We convince ourselves that life will finally begin once we become happier, more successful, more loved, more certain of who we are. But life is happening right now, which is why I choose to live every day like it’s the best day ever.
That’s not to say that every day is going to feel good. There will always be days that hurt. Days where we doubt ourselves. Days where we feel lost. Days where continuing forward feels like more effort than anyone else seems to understand.
Those days still mean everything.
When I say I want to live every day like it’s the best day ever, I don’t mean forcing a toxic kind of happiness or pretending like the heavy stuff isn’t there. I mean acknowledging that every day carries something worth keeping. The warmth of sunlight spilling through the window. The laughter of a stranger. The sky turning orange for five minutes before dark. The relief of realizing you survived a day you thought would crush you.
Those moments might seem small, but they’re the literal pieces of a life.
Think about it: you’ve already made it through every bad day you’ve ever had. You made it through yesterday which makes today the newest, furthest edge of your story. It is your best day yet because you are still here. You are still waking up, walking across Grounds, and stepping into a world that can feel both terrifying and breathtaking all at once.
Every single day changes you and leaves something behind. Some memory, some connection, some scar, some joy, some grief, some hope, some sorrow, some love – some proof that you are still here. You are leaving an imprint, whether you realize it or not.
Maybe you’ll look back on today and realize it shaped you in ways you never could have imagined.
Or maybe today will just be a blur, and that’s okay too.
Either way, it mattered. You matter. Keep going. Keep living your best day yet.
Lucy M., University of Virginia
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