Last year on my 25th birthday, I asked friends and family members to send me thoughts about turning/being 25, and what they would've liked to have known when reaching that milestone. That "quarter-life crisis," as it's known.

I took some quotes and thoughts from those letters and added them on a bulletin board in my room. Earlier this week, after a particularly crappy day, I went home after work and crawled into bed and was listening to a podcast when I looked up and focused in on this:

"There's no such thing as a quarter-life crisis. Just everyday life. We're always going to go through changes. We just believe this is our last chance to be the superstar we were always meant to be."

It's so simple, but so easily forgotten. Minerva and I were talking last night about measuring life in moments, not time [insert Rent reference here]. One of my favorite mottos is "the best is yet to come," and while some see it as overly-expectant and unfavorable to "enjoying the moment," I see it as a reminder that there's always something to look forward to in the future. There's always a person to look forward to seeing, a trip to look forward to taking, an action to look forward to trying.

Life will be littered with things to do, and plans to make of more things to do. Even in those moments when it feels like the world has stopped--and, trust me, there's been plenty of those this year--life is going to keep moving around you whether you're ready for it or not. And it's OK to stop and take a moment (or two or three) for yourself, as long as you remember that there's still more waiting for you in this world: more people to meet, more places to see, more "I love you" messages to share.

In the immediate future, I'm looking forward to seeing my family next week and meeting my cousin's son for the first time. I'm looking forward to a road trip to Philadelphia. I'm looking forward to less humidity. I'm looking forward to autumn.

And, not gonna lie: I'm looking forward to the end of NaBloPoMo :)