craigdailypress.com

Mari Katherine Raftopoulos

Mari Katherine Raftopoulos' column appears in the Craig Daily Press and the Saturday Morning Press.

I love the simple things in life: a perfect sunset, ice-cold lemonade, fresh air, a foreign cafe and a turkey sandwich.

However, I am much more complicated than my simple pleasures, because if life were as simple as a turkey sandwich, it would be routine and expected.

But when life becomes too random and too unexpected, it is the simple things that we find comfort in. Although life accelerates, our simple pleasures stay constant.

Although these simple things require very little thought or ingredients, which makes them simple, the meaning they provide to each person individually makes them just as important as the real things.

They might not always be the same - a simple pleasure in childhood is a toy truck or a doll - but they always are familiar and always natural.

People have a soft spot for simplicity, much like women have a soft spot for romantic comedies, or men have a soft spot for March Madness. We feel a sense of relief in the closing scene when the couple finally falls in love or in the final seconds when our team wins.

We have a soft spot for the things that satisfy us and bitterness toward those the things that challenge us.

For instance, as college students, we search for the teachers who use the curve systems, never have a cumulative final and cancel classes on national holidays.

As for those who have a nine-to-five work schedule, one might be satisfied with always transferring the phone calls and never receiving them, while others pass off the Excel accounting work as they stick to simply answering e-mails.

And we go through the motions, we tell ourselves that, just for the day at least, we'll take the easy route. Just for today, I'll just sit behind my cubical and pretend that I am working.

Tomorrow is a new day, we think.

Tomorrow, I will start eating healthy.

Tomorrow, I will apologize.

Tomorrow, I will apply for that job.

Within this big city, I oftentimes find myself being consumed with unnecessary stress and expectations. That leads me to neglect the simple things. Like calling my mother, sending a greeting card or being alone.

The stress manipulates me into believing that it is more important than the simple things. And as I preach to people to always live in the moment, I find myself scheduling my every moment at times.

I search for an escape.

And often this escape leads me to a new discovery either within myself or in a location. But this time, I searched for comfort.

As I ran across the sun-kissed San Diego Bay, I found comfort in a place of my past. It was a simple bench made of cement. But engraved on it, in memory of a loved stranger, it read, "I love this place."

It brought back memories of this past summer, when life was much easier and smoothly sailed away. Although it was far from reality, I spent my summer days interviewing football players and my summer nights sitting on this bench watching the fish jump in the bay.

This was a simple time.

But, my life is far from simple now as I find myself constantly stressing about the real world. Wondering if I am qualified for a real job, my own home and my own life. Wondering if I ever will be qualified enough to be cut off and start my life as an adult and not a college student.

We all know life isn't easy. And be happy that it is not. If it were, our lives would lack spontaneity and randomness. And the simple things, such as a turkey sandwich and an ice cold lemonade wouldn't be as special.

So don't wait for tomorrow to take the easy route today because life will never get easier - it will only become more random. So apply for that job, apologize, and eat healthy today and after that, watch the sunset.