Romanticize Your Life

When I was a little girl no more than 5 years old, my Grandpa Bo would tell me to live life like I’m the star of the movie. Now as a child this meant dressing up in ridiculous costumes, talking in funny accents, and putting on skits. As a child I took his advice quite literally, actually for most of my life I continued acting, and putting my life on the stage. Each passing year though I take the advice in a different way, I believe he meant to romanticize everything you do in life.

What does ‘romanticize’ your life mean? It doesn’t mean your life has to be full of fairytales and happy endings, but why can’t it be? It means wear that colorful shirt that is outside of your comfort zone, sing loudly in the shower, dance with your partner in the kitchen at 3 a.m., go on that trip you keep putting off. Romanticizing your life just means do things that make you happy and try to avoid things that do not. In life there are too many triggers for unhappiness, and you only get so many days on this earth, why would you not want to make the most out of every single day?

My grandpa passed away nearly 10 years ago, yet looking back on his life I realized he always seemed to be doing this with all of his heart and energy. I remember him being so enthused just by being alive, and witnessing that makes me want to be more like him each and every day.

It is inevitable that you will face hard times. There will be times that you feel like giving up, times where it is hard to put one foot in front of the other, but the tricky thing is you need to not let those moments define you. 

You can dream big and romanticize your life in big ways like I talked about earlier, but there are little ways to appreciate life more that I strive to do every day. When making your coffee in the morning take a moment of silence, drink the coffee as if it is the best cup you have ever had. Reflect on the day you would like to have. Make that new recipe for dinner you’ve been wanting to do. 

Decide you are going to have a good day rather than dreading the things that you have to do. One thing my grandpa instilled in me is change your ‘have tos’ into ‘get tos’ and you will live a happier life. If you wake up each morning and tell yourself that you get to do something today, you get to live today, rather than complaining and going through in your head all of the chores you have to do today you’ll be happier. 

Although my grandpa’s life has come to an end, I feel his method of living life has been instilled in all the people he touched in his life on earth that his memory will never die. He lived life like he was the star of the show, from blasting the Beach Boys in his old red pick up with me sitting in the passenger seat, to taking long hikes up in the mountains with his kids and grandkids, he taught each and every one of us to live life to the fullest. He romanticized his life each and every day, and now I strive to do the same thing. Maybe one day I can touch as many lives as he did.