Pause.

My dad is the king of sending “random” videos or pictures into our family group chat. (I put ‘random’ in quotation marks because to an outsider, the messages might seem aimless, but to us, there is purpose behind them.)

One day it’ll be a gaggle of geese floating down the river that he spotted on his walk during his lunch break. The next could be the blurriest, worst quality picture of the chipmunk that he saw scurrying across our patio - why does every parent try to zoom in and not realize the pixels get bigger too?! Sometimes it’s a photo of one of his favorite pictures of my brother or me from when we were younger that he has on his desk. The best texts are Tweets he finds that make you question humanity’s intelligence and leave you LOLing - check out @CCTV_IDIOTS, and you won’t be disappointed.

Yet, there is always purpose.

For as long as I can remember, my dad has reminded everyone in our family to sometimes just stop and appreciate how beautiful our world is … How beautiful life is.

Whether that’s making an effort to put your phone away and walk to class across campus, looking into the stands before a big game and focusing on the colors of the crowd, or taking your phone out to capture a beautiful sunset, there are so many memorable moments that are worth paying attention to.

Yet, there are so many moments that we sometimes forget to pay attention to.

I definitely think my appreciation for our world and the life we live has been influenced by my dad’s constant reminders to stop, take a step back, look around, and be amazed by the things that are right in front of us that we may not always truly see.

It is no one’s fault that we all live in a busy, hectic society. And it is impossible to be totally aware of everything all of the time. I was also fortunate to have someone nudge me in the right direction to appreciate what God gave us, but that’s not the case for all of us.

So, let this be a reminder for you.

Here’s a list of things that I had appreciation for today that were beautiful … are beautiful.

• A bright blue Carolina Blue sky walking to class - not a cloud in sight!

• How warm and refreshing the morning sun feels

• Sitting with my friends during class

• A Carolina Coffee Shop almond milk latte

• The support my family and Ben give me everyday

• The flowers blooming around campus

• Seeing the crowds of students walking to class and appreciating the “normalcy”

• Cooking my go-to breakfast meal for lunch

  • I’m sure I will be sharing recipes down the road!

• Running next to my teammates and challenging each other

• Showering and feeling super comfortable in an oversized sweatshirt

• Sitting on the porch with a friend as the sun goes down

• The smell of my favorite candle at the moment

• Facetiming Ben before going to sleep

What will you notice and appreciate tomorrow? What about the next day?

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” - John F. Kennedy