The Weight of Almost: Finding the Peace in Staying Present
Love Notes and Lessons 1: 11/4/25
I’ve been rocking with my bi-weekly posting schedule, but recently I’ve been finding a lot of motivation to write during the week. So I thought I would introduce “Love Notes and Lessons,” a space for me to write my thoughts that maybe somebody else could relate to.
Dear Sof,
This week's love note is a reminder to stop chasing the next chapter and instead fall in love with the one you're in.
Ever since I was young, I would find myself thinking about the future. I would be ten, imagining my life at twenty; fourteen, imagining my first apartment. I don’t know why, but I’ve always had trouble staying in the present moment.
My mind is a combination of “what-ifs” and “imagine whens” or “excited fors”. But the more I think about the future, the less time I spend enjoying my present. When I was in high school, I complained so much about my circumstances. How I hated my school and would be so ecstatic when I finally had the chance to move on and go to college.
Now in college, I keep looking back at my time in high school, wishing I hadn’t taken those moments for granted, wishing I had just enjoyed the present. Because I kept looking forward, I didn’t appreciate the luxuries of high school. Being near my hometown friends, seeing my family every day, and being able to decide one day I want to adventure into the nearest city and just explore.
All of these things I would do without a second thought, taking them for granted. Instead, thinking of how, in three months, I would be six hours away and have the freedom to do whatever.
Three months later and six hours away, I’m reminiscing on those spontaneous trips and coming home to a house full of love and home-cooked food. But I also see myself falling into old habits. Looking back at “what was”, instead of enjoying the fact that I am in college right now, and that is a once-in-a-lifetime moment.
So going forward, I am promising myself to stay in the now. Enjoy what’s around me and be appreciative of the space I’m living in. If you are looking for something to be wrong, you will always find something wrong. But the more you enjoy where you are and express gratitude for your current situation, the happier you will end up being.
I love the quote by Bil Keane, “Yesterday’s the past, tomorrow’s the future, but today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present”. Even as I have my doubts about the time I’m spending here in college, I have to remind myself that it is a gift to even be in this moment. And instead of jumping to what could be next, I have to sit and revel in the fact that I’m able to enjoy today.
With Love,
Sof 🎀