Deep Thoughts with Jeri Stein

Jeri Stein

I do not know much about life; I'm only 16 and just haven't lived long enough to really comprehend what life could be. For most of my existence I decided to be cynical, glass half empty, the light will never come blah blah blah. But why, why does life have to be such a somber event? Now this may be the mix of Pinegroves “Need 2” and the motivational TikTok slideshows speaking but why does life have to be such a dark situation? Life is going to suck and be hard but that's not all it has to be.

Now, I'm not saying to never be bitter—everybody is bitter, and I'm still very bitter. I hate when the cuffs of my pants are wet, I hate when my bus misses me and I absolutely hate blink-182. But I also love many things: I love the raindrops on my window, I love the people I surround myself with and I love when blink-182 isn't playing. There's always a yin to a yang, one might say. Why spend my time thinking about if the cuffs of my pants are going to get wet and instead focus on the raindrops on my window. That's what I believe life to be about—the moments you decide to focus on.

“We can never go back, and we can never go forward, so become content in the place you are.”

Now you may sit here and think I'm full of it, and maybe, I am. Maybe, life isn't supposed to be full of love and joy, but isn't it easier to believe and hope that it is? One of my simplest favorite sayings is, “No matter what, the sun will always rise.” Though the saying may be corny and sound like it belongs on a wood carving in your mother’s bathroom, it's also very true. No matter what you do in life, there's always going to be that one constant—the sun will rise again. So yeah, life may suck, and it's going to continue to suck, but it won’t suck forever because the sun will always rise. 

I implore you to live your life full of love. Love everything, love so much that people question why. Don't live with regret. If a task seems too laborious or too time-consuming, remember that the time will pass anyways. We cannot stop time. We can never go back, and we can never go forward, so become content in the place you are. This article may have become me spewing positivity at you, but I truly mean every word I wrote. We are too young and life is too short to spend it being cynical, so choose to love, choose to focus on the raindrops and ignore your soggy pant cuffs.