Stop and pet the campus cats.

I mean that quite literally. If one of those mangy furballs is in your general vicinity, you need to stop whatever you’re doing and say hello.

“But, Adam, I’m just really busy and I don’t have time to stop and talk to a cat,” you might say. I hate to break it to you, reader, but the plan that you have for your day is actually not that great.

It took me a while to realize this. I used to think that I had life figured out, and that of course I knew what I wanted to do with my day.

However, I found life to be boring, predictable, and restricted: my day was only as good as what was within my control or understanding.

That’s the problem: we actually don’t know that much about how to live. During our years of cognitive awareness, we’ve been exposed to a very, very small amount of information and experiences.

Are you so sure that you know exactly what a “good” day is? What about a “good” life?

Now, that’s scary to consider. But fortunately, you can do something about it: if you try something different than what you usually do, it will help you get a better idea of what is “good.”

My advice is to accumulate lots of new ideas, experiences, and people during your four years at EMU. I don’t know what a good life looks like yet.

I don’t know if I ever will. But every time I talk to someone new, try something new, or change my mind, I’m getting closer and closer to knowing what that is.

So when a campus cat walks along your path, take that as a sign.

Maybe there’s something new out there that could make your life just a little bit more awesome. Why don’t you pet that thing and find out?