For as long as I can remember, I’ve been stuck in a perpetual state of longing. Being possessed by a fiery passion to launch myself into a different situation, varying scenarios that just HAD to be better than the moments I was in. I’ve always just wanted more. More adventure, more discussion, more happiness, more depth, more humor. It’s a cycle of unhappiness and disappointment- the reality of situations will never compare to fantasies in my head, due to the simple fact that they are dreams. Fallacies I’ve created that are inevitably holding me back. Well, frankly I am over this cycle. Am I gaining anything positive from my thinking? No. Therefore an evolution is needed, and I am completely willing to change. I suppose what is needed is a different approach at existence: instead of being alive, I simply am choosing to live.

Everyone reading this post is alive (or so I assume.) We have blood pumping through our veins, a heart that is beating in our chests, and a brain that is functioning. We are breathing in Oxygen and releasing Carbon Dioxide. By the definition of the word- we are alive. However, upon further speculation, I have come to the completely biased opinion that we may not all be living. To live is to appreciate. To be thankful for what we have, to look at things in different perspectives, varying lights. To bask in the feeling that arises when the sun gently kisses your skin and you feel connected to not only the beings around you but to the world as a whole. Living is loving. The flutter in your heart and the butterflies zooming around in your stomach when your eyes “accidentally” make contact with that one beautiful, handsome, soul-awakening, fire-starting person across the room. Living is traveling- exploring new places, understanding other cultures, taking every opportunity to walk in another’s shoes.   Living is passion that cannot be contained, fear with the power to petrify, jet lag that makes you stay awake until the sun rises and sleep until dusk sets in. To live is to cry until you no longer can and to smile so much your cheeks hurt.

I suppose above all the process of being alive and living can be distinguished between fairly easily. To be alive is to be contained-to be simplified and plain. Being alive is the first level of a video game or the preliminary course you take before you move on to the much, MUCH, more interesting content. In contrast, to live is to be free. To live is to take a path of your own choice, to feel EVERYTHING and ANYTHING with no limits except those you set for yourself. I have made my choice in full confidence- I choose to experience, to love fully and to laugh with all of my being. I choose to not only be alive, but to live. What do you choose?