For awhile I’ve wanted to start this new series on best things I’ve learned from people, places, and things. Some of the anecdotes may be funny, some may be serious, but I’m excited to reflect on people, places, and things I’ve encountered that have impacted me in any positive way.

Since it’s been raining literally non-stop for almost two weeks here, I thought I’d start this series off with a bright, light-hearted one: best thing I ever learned from… the sun.

Because sunshine, I miss you, dearly.

Fall anywhere in Europe is basically a recipe for gray skies, some wind, and no sun. It makes me feel painfully, vitamin-D deficient and pale (and if you know me, you know I’m not exactly pale…). But every time fall comes around, I kind of have to laugh at myself. Because just a few months earlier, in the dry, scathing heat of the Texas summer, I find myself holed up in the corner of my house, basking in the ice-cold air conditioning, far away from the burning, could-cook-an-egg-on-the-sidewalk heat. Smack dab in the middle of summer, whenever I have errands to run and have to be outside for any prolonged period of time, I find myself internally groaning and wishing for cooler temperatures, knowing most of my strength will be sapped by the summer sun, leaving me with energy only to splay on my couch watching re-runs of Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta.

Dare I say struggle bus?

Isn’t it so human to see the green grass on the other side, know that the green grass is not exactly better on that side, and yet still want that green grass? I’ve experienced quite a few Texas summers in my 22 years (so make that 22 summers), and I know it’s scorching. But I’ve also been through a few European winters and I know it’s particularly gray. Yet in the midst of one, I want the other. Desperately. Without fail. In the words of the fabulous Tori Kelly, “people seem to think that you’ll be happier once you reach the top,” or in my case, once I reach the sun in the midst of fall and winter. But in reality, it’s simply better to live in the present.

So what has been the best thing I’ve ever learned from the sun?

To not forget to cherish every single moment I receive. I may be impatient for the spring and summer in the fall and winter and vice versa, but each moment of every season is a gift – no matter how gray the skies – and one that I can appreciate much more fully if I take the time to sit back, relax, and enjoy it.