Your alarm clock blares. Sunlight pours in through the slightest sliver in your blackout curtains. You groan, throwing your phone across the room and pulling your comforter up over your head. That 8 a.m. came entirely too fast, and entirely too early.

Grudgingly, you get out of bed, throw on some clothes and brush your teeth. If you have time, you grab an apple as you run out the door. Immediately, you pull out your headphones and stick them in, all too ready to drown out the hustle and bustle of the word around you. Sound familiar?

Why is it that we wake up immediately regretting the day ahead? Why do we shut out the world, shut out people around us, just to listen to the same song we’ve heard a thousand times? Because we take our days for granted. We spend our time in isolation, so we do not have to interact with “idiots” around us. We sleep away opportunities to live, breathe and grow. This day is a miracle. It is beautiful. It is a gift. We need to treat it as such.

All too often, we walk through our days without truly living. We walk from class to class with our faces glued to our phones and our ears pounding with music. We refuse to look around, to breathe in the world around us. When is the last time you looked around you while walking through the quad? When was the last time you looked up rather than down? We should be gazing up at the sky, watching the clouds flit around, not watching emojis dance around our phone screens.

The University of Alabama is home to about 38,500 students, and that number grows each day. That is 38,500 faces to smile at each day. 38,500 lives you have the possibility to influence. 38,500 days you have the opportunity of making, simply by smiling at them as you pass by. Choose one of these students. Or, choose more than one. Choose to smile at each one you pass, and the smile will become contagious.

Often times, I feel like an ant scurrying around such a huge campus, out of place and terrified to connect with anyone out of fear of bothering them. I’m sure you relate with this feeling and are frightened at the thought of approaching others. But, how many times do you walk past someone and wish they would’ve smiled at you, rather than avoiding awkward eye contact? How many times do you need that nod of encouragement, just to get you through the day? Give that to someone. Be their saving grace.

You are alive and surrounded by living, breathing people who also need a reminder to truly live. We are so guilty of sticking to ourselves, rolling our eyes at the thought of making conversation and investing time in making new relationships. How long until we rot away in our bedrooms, succumbing to loneliness?

Imagine for one moment how many kids dream of being where we are right now. We attend the University of Alabama. We cheer on the Crimson Tide. We receive an education from one of the country’s most well known universities. We worked our butts off to get to where we are right now. Our families provided for and sacrificed for us. Our friends supported and encouraged us. All to get us right here. And yet, we wake up and often times decide to skip class. We roll over, hit snooze and sleep right through that English class.

How dare we throw away the education that we have been so undoubtedly blessed with? We have professors aching to instill years of wisdom upon us, aching to send us soaring into our futures. Do not waste this opportunity you have been given. Take it and run with it.

So, yes, I took yesterday for granted. I rolled my eyes when my alarm clock woke me up. I stuck in my earphones and started the treacherous walk to class. But tomorrow, tomorrow will be different. I will hop out of bed, throw open my curtains and soak in the sunshine that lights up the day. I will walk through campus, grinning at each passerby, encouraging them to do the same. I will ask questions in class, eager to see where they take me. I urge you to do the same. Open your eyes to the beauty in this day, to the beauty in the people around you. Use today as an opportunity to grow and find joy in all you do.