By Omekah Edmondson

Just envision this: you wake up and realize that you have overslept and have literally 5 minutes to get to the class that you stayed up all night studying for. You throw all of your belongings into your bag, run outside just to find out it is raining scratch that, monsooning.

You have two options: run back upstairs to get an umbrella and get to class even later or take on the monsoon like a boss. You chose not to be a boss and go back to get protection from this monsoon, then sprint to class just to see a note on the door saying “class is cancelled.”

You take a deep breath and proceed to go outside with your umbrella, just to realize that the sun is blazing and there is no more rain in sight. This, my friends, is what we all would call the definition of continuous L’s.

In moments like these it is so easy to succumb to a negative sense of mind and stay stagnant in that mindset, because why wouldn’t you! You deserve to be pressed like your bougie professors pants suits and filled with slight rage for anyone and anything doing slightly better than you… momentarily of course.

When you have daily encounters like these especially in the college setting you almost become numb to realizing the good and positive things going on in your life. All you notice, shed light on, discuss, and tweet about are the daily L’s you have or will be taking.

It is possible to get caught up in these negative vibes, which is why but I want to take a moment to shed light on Jhene Aiko’s song, “Eternal Sunshine.” In this lyrical serenade you are placed in this tantalizing trance of quiet reflection which allows you to really soak up and internalize her lyrics.

When Jhene begins with “is it strange for me to say, if I were to die today, there’s not a thing that I would change, I’ve lived well,” it makes you stop and contemplate if you too feel the same way. Something that is so powerful that keeps sticking out is the lyric, “I’ve lived well.”

Just take a moment and reflect on that lyric in its essence … “I’ve lived well.” This mentality is something that we should all internalize and attempt to instill in our daily lives. The mindset that even through non-stop trials and tribulations, as well as the daily L’s that we may encounter, we have still lived well. Yes, daily struggles and challenges are inevitable.

Yes, there are days where our most valiant efforts may not be good enough, but at the end of the day we have all still lived well. Instead of getting so caught up in those negative vibes, try to take a step back to a point where you realize and accept your struggles but you come out with the mentality of “things will get better” and even though you’re facing that obstacle you’re prospering.

Remember that you still have your health, sanity, family, people who care about you, and an unlimited supply of opportunity just waiting to be grasped. This mindset alone will probably give you a much more positive outlook on life, where you can take your “L’s” in stride because you know you’ve been blessed and it will all work out. At the end of the day, we have all Lived.