Michigan's harsh winters and unpredictable weather lets us appreciate a 40-degree sunny day in a way they never could understand in Florida or Southern California. I love that feeling of knowing, right before I drift off to sleep, that no alarm will wake me in the morning. Sometimes I'll set my alarm to wake me at my usual time just so I can truly appreciate turning off the alarm and going back to sleep. The excitement of having a whole day of nothing to do eventually stirs my body out of bed. I head downstairs and make a huge pot of coffee to drink out of a regular mug, slowly, instead out of a travel mug on the road, and I turn on Sportscenter and read the paper.
Life is good at that moment.
But the joy in life goes beyond a lazy day with nothing to do. There are joys in responsibilities, as well. Printing out that eight-page paper that took me all night to finish, stapling it together with a bibliography and a title page and dropping it on my professor's desk. That's a great moment of completion. I also love the feeling of speaking up in class and making a good point.