"My life is not perfect, but it has perfect moments." ~ Unknown
The training was over, the hot Florida sun sat behind the high stands and threw golden rays on the track. Behind me was my dear school, surrounded by beautiful palm trees. "California Girls" played through the speakers and I laughed with friends at something a teammate said. There I realized how lively I felt at that moment. It seemed perfect in every way.
A few years ago, I could only imagine being on this team, attending such a great school, and living in a place as beautiful as sunny Florida.
Growing up as a child with a migrant background in the United States is associated with a lot of uncertainty and often with concerns because you never know what lies ahead.
But despite all the uncertainties, my beautiful family was always my rock in every situation. Now that I was on the purple trail, I understood why my family had sacrificed so much to be here. I might never have gotten into an American high school to participate in a sport that I love so much or feel so free anywhere else.
After fearing political persecution in my home country of Kazakhstan, we were blessed to have a fresh start in America.
It was then that I realized how wonderful it is to live this life and how an apparently ordinary moment can be taken for granted.
Life consists of countless moments worth living, which are held together by the seemingly banal sections in between.
The moments when all the chaos freezes, the outside noise subsides and you realize that you are living the dream that you could only pray for once, it's almost like a cinematic fragment of a Hollywood film – everything is silent until at the beat of your own heart and you feel no less alive.
Could it be that these looks often pass us by unnoticed while we are busy living at the thresholds of our complex minds and endless suffering? Once we deal with one of life's problems, another seems ready to come to mind and leave us in a rat race for happiness.
We always chase happiness as if it were something complicated and difficult to find. Just google books about luck or success and I guarantee that you will be busy for a while.
But we cannot achieve happiness permanently. It is very like a fleeting wind – it is here in one moment and it is far away in another.
It seems to me that everything we do is driven by a desire to be happy. But what are we really looking for?
Does his desire for a new car arise from the desire for autocracy over a heap of metal or the desire to feel free when he drives along the coast and reminds of his youth?
Does she really want a new phone or just want her colleagues to respect her and a new technology will make this possible?
Luck has recently appeared on a pedestal as if it were a prize reserved for the chosen ones. But happiness is not as difficult to grasp as we might think. it is available to everyone. It's about the simplest joys of life. It's about the moments we live for – warmth, friendship and friendliness. We just have to recognize and appreciate them.
When I am old and withered, I want to be rich in memories – going out, seeing the world and living every moment this life could give.
I want to be rich in memories of sunrises on beaches, long hikes, family meals, passport stamps, sunsets in New York, thrashed sneakers, midnight fireworks, real love, endless laughs, sunshine on rainy days and close friends. This is pure happiness, and these are the moments we live for. Let's collect them now.
About Aida Sarsenova
Aída's family emigrated from Kazakhstan to America at the age of six and grew up as a first-generation American. Today she attends high school in sunny Florida and dreams of becoming a journalist one day. She is also a lifeguard at YMCA, runs cross country and track and volunteers at the clubs in her school.
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