By Kaylee Jacobs

Maybe it’s the Scorpio in me, but my spirits lift in the fall. 

Every morning, I wake up to the sunlight peeking through the cracks of the cheap, cloud-pink curtains that cover my creaky dorm room window and try to enjoy a moment of stillness. This tiny tradition grounds me and forces me to be present before I inevitably lay in bed for an additional ten minutes until I finally begin my day.

As I start my ritual, a mixture of the morning sun and warm lamp light fill the air and cover the floor. A display of Halloween decorations that my roommate and I put up intermingle with our Pinterest-worthy decor to adorn the room. We begin our respective morning routines, content and comfortable enough to exist in the same space together. 

Eventually, I step outside of my room and feel the soft, chilled breeze blowing my bangs out of order even though I just fixed them only minutes earlier, but who am I to argue with the wind? If this is the price I must pay to romanticize my day in the autumn air, so be it. 

The initial challenge of taking time to appreciate the small things was learning to grant  myself the freedom to let my mind wander. The lingering voice in my head still tries to list dozens of other tasks I could be doing or ways I should be spending my time, but that voice is not nearly as powerful as it once was. 

Finding contentment and peace in the mundane is a transformative thing. Throughout the chaos of the last few years, I have come to terms with the fact that not every day requires a grand adventure or enlightenment - a collection of small, good moments can be enough.