It’s 7:00 a.m. and I am surrounded by books.

In preparation for a test in the afternoon, I have stationed myself in isolation at a table in the Math Resource Center, and every time a friend or teacher that I normally would greet passes by, I bury myself further into the study materials.

Later that day, walking to finally take the test I had been dreading throughout the entire morning, I continue to ignore my friends in the halls and concentrate all of my efforts towards memorizing a few last minute formulas. Even after the test ends, I still find myself trapped in test mode, as the short 90 minute assessment has completely taken over my day.

This is a situation I find myself a victim to far too often. I somehow managed to forget everything else and divert all of my energy towards a single test. As I look back with less than a month left in my high school career, I ask myself, was it worth it?

By getting caught up in the all-encompassing motion of studying for a test, working on a group project, or rehearsing what to say to an angry teacher, I found it easy to disregard the people and pleasures in my life that often keep me on track. While the big moments in your life are important and oftentimes the most memorable, it is the little things, the gems you hold sacred, that keep you smiling.

For me, I live for Thai curry and frozen waffles. I like the feeling of mud between my toes and the inside of a fleece jacket before you wash it. I love cheese. I like lighting incense and making my room smell like an Indian palace. Peeling dried glue off my hands, getting packages in the mail, and rediscovering a song on my iPod that I once loved also make the list of things that me happy.

I always try to make time to make these joys a priority. While they may be little things, these little things will keep your life together. By making your happiness a priority, everything else will fall into place. We are all familiar with the feeling of stress, but you don’t have to let stress take over and sacrifice your own contentment.

Somewhere between severe senioritis and feeling all nostalgic about graduation, I realized that I was getting too caught up in big decisions and overwhelming schoolwork that I had forgotten how to do something that didn’t come with a grade, a tangible reward, or any form of positive reinforcement. I had forgotten how to do things for myself.

During the last few months, I have instead surrounded myself with the people I love and have indulged in what truly matters.  If you find yourself overwhelmed, discouraged or trapped, forget the formulas. Whether it is putting together a puzzle with your family or lying in your bed doing nothing, make sure that you too can find the time to discover what makes you happy and do it often.