5 Things You Don’t Realize Until its Too Late

            There are hundreds of factors that contribute towards ones life running smoothly. Things do indeed just fall in place sometimes, but only a fool relies on this during their journey towards success or happiness. You need to stay conscious and aware of the choices you make every day (what a drag) in order to stay on the right road to be where you want to be. Well people it’s 2014, and although many of us try to make steps to move forward, most of us simply do not have time to focus on the progress or lack there of in relation to our lives. Now I am not saying we aren’t trying to be successful, but God we suck at multitasking, or keeping track of things we claim are important to us…And sometimes, we don’t realize this type of stuff until its far too late.

1.   You’re getting fat

Life is moving faster than lightening and in between your never ending school work, shitty paying job, and those minimal hours you have left for sleep your eating habits are not really up to par with what you had hoped for yourself this new year. Seriously, McDonalds might be bad for you, but you don’t even have time to grab a salad from some other poor excuse for healthy eating like that local sub shop down the street. I know I personally never realize I am becoming a beached wale until my work pants start feeling tight or my going out college pictures make me want to hide under my covers for the rest of eternity. I have a gym membership and I do not go nearly enough. There is always an excuse, and it is always a bunch of crap.

 One summer you are in a skimpy bikini, and the next that same bikini doesn’t fit you the same at all. TRUST me, once you reach your healthy ideal weight stick with it. It is so much harder to lose weight rather than stay in the shape you’re already in.

2.    You drank too much

Remember that long shitty week I was just talking about? Well now its Saturday night and you have no papers, work shifts, or any form of responsibility to think about. In fact the only thing you can think about is the pay check you just got and how you need to spend it. You and your friends pregame at your apartment with some Blue Moons and a celebratory shot before you walk to the trashy bar down the street. You wait in line for a little and finally you guys are in.  Now it’s like a race of who can get the bartenders attention first so you can just get a damn drink and enjoy the show.

 That first drink goes down fast, and by your fourth drink your asking your buddies why you haven’t all taken those cheap ass Jell-O shots they are selling in the corner. The rest is kind of a blur, and your head is suddenly in a toilet that isn’t even yours. The biggest cliché about college students is that we binge drink, but holy hell, this day and age we take it to a new and somewhat evolved level. We drink too much every night and never learn our lesson. Moderation is key, water is key, staying away from $1 shots is key.

3.    You should have studied harder

With each semester comes a different breed of excuses as to why you’re not going to your classes or not caring. First semester it’s nothing less than gorgeous out and you are rekindling with all of your old friends from last year. “Why not skip today and relax outside”. Yea I’ve heard that one too many times. Or how about second semester when you stupidly signed up for an 8 am and it’s a blizzard outside? You can bet your ass most students roll over and fall back asleep when their alarm goes off. It all seems minimal at the time, and hey, this isn’t high school. Aren’t you like, aloud to skip in college?

 You’ll be changing your tune when the big test comes around and you freeze up. There is nothing worse than getting a test back that everyone at least pulled a 70 on and you are sitting there with a solid 55.  It catches up with students fast. I know I have served my time with this mistake after a certain science class, and I will tell ya…GO TO CLASS. Get over the weather, get over the hang over. You guys will thank me for this someday (maybe).

4.   The one that got away

Anyone that is reading this probably thought of someone the second they read this heading. Whether you love them, hate them, miss them, or want them to burn in the hot intensity of 1,000 suns, they still came to mind. When you are with someone, especially at this young age you tend to take advantage of him or her. Not necessarily in the conventional way, but maybe in terms of knowing they will be there no matter what. Or maybe in terms of knowing how strongly you feel about them, but you want to see what else is out there. Isn't it a thing that there are other fish in the sea?

Now, I firmly believe in searching for what makes you happy until you find it, but you can’t really succeed in this until you make peace with what you are letting go in order to take these steps. You might think that you want something more or different when in reality you can find a new fling every hour of every day but the problem could be you. The saying “you don’t know what you got till it’s gone” stays relevant in all aspects of life. Appreciate what you have, or realize that what you have is not what you really want. But enough of this lovey-dovey bullshit.

5.     Your car is on the fritz

So maybe you’ve been a tad bit busy. Maybe you’ve had a lot of bills to pay for. Maybe your schoolwork has been piling up lately. Maybe you’ve been working a lot of doubles since you opened up your availability. Here’s the thing: If your car lights up with anything, you get it checked out immediately. My mother always said, “Your car and your health, two things you don’t mess around with.” If you sense something is wrong with your car, get it checked out. For example, my car said check coolant for 2 weeks. I kept saying I would get around to it. Your car does not care about your busy life, or latest drama…when it’s broken that’s IT. I was on my way to work one day and bam; I’m broken down on the side of the road. Thank the lord for AAA, but I really hated my life for a quick three days while my car was in the shop getting fixed. Had I just dealt with my car troubles right away, I would be sitting pretty in my Ford Escort 97 (or something like that.) DON’T WAIT TIL IT’S TOO LATE.

I get it, life is fast paced and we aren’t friggan magicians over here staying on top of everything that life throws at us. But it is vital to realize some things that you put to the side feel almost irreversible once they come to a head. Believe me, it takes way less effort to roll with the punches of life as they come to you rather than dig yourself in a hole you can’t get out of. “Life sucks, get a helmet”. Or a routine, or a reminder on your cell phone. Trust me on this one.