I used to think there was all the time in the world. That there would always be another summer, another trip, another chance to say yes. But then I blinked, and suddenly, everything was moving too fast—graduation creeping closer, friends scattering and routines changing. Time doesn’t wait for you to feel ready. It just keeps going.
So, when the opportunity came up to go to Costa Rica, I didn’t hesitate. I didn’t overthink it, didn’t weigh the pros and cons and didn’t let myself get caught up in all the little worries that make people miss out on the good stuff. I just said yes.
Because here’s the thing—life isn’t slowing down. If anything, it feels like it’s speeding up. One day, you’re sitting in a too-bright classroom, dreaming about all the places you’ll go, and the next, you realize you’re already running out of time to do them.
I think about James 4:14: “Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”
That verse used to scare me. The idea that life is just a mist, here for a moment and gone the next. But now? Now, I think it’s freeing. Because if life is fleeting, then it’s meant to be lived. Fully, recklessly and beautifully. It’s meant to be a little messy, a little spontaneous, a little unplanned. It’s meant to be filled with yeses and late nights and road trips that don’t make sense but somehow make perfect sense.
I feel it now, in the little moments—the ones that seem insignificant but will be the things I remember when I’m older. Like when I’m in the car with my sister, belting out a song neither of us really know, the windows down and the whole world ahead of us. Or when I’m sitting on a friend’s kitchen counter, legs swinging, laughing so hard my stomach hurts.
I don’t want to waste these moments. I don’t want to waste this season.
Because as much as I want to go everywhere, see everything and chase the kind of adventure that makes my heart race—I know that people are what make life feel full. And I’m lucky to have them right now. Lucky to have the kind of people who make even the most ordinary nights feel electric. Lucky to have friendships that remind me life isn’t meant to be lived in waiting.
We spend so much of our lives holding back—waiting for the perfect time, waiting until we have it all figured out, waiting until we feel ready. But what if we never do?
I don’t want to wait anymore.
I want to chase the sunset until it melts into the ocean. I want to drink something fruity with an umbrella in it and not think about deadlines for once. I want to swim under waterfalls and get a sunburn I’ll regret but also weirdly love because it means I was there. I want to sit on a beach at midnight, toes in the sand while listening to the waves crash and feeling small in the best way possible.
I want to live in the season I’m in, not just the one I’m planning for.
Because time is fleeting, but the memories? Those are the things that stay. And when I look back on my life, I don’t want to see a highlight reel of missed opportunities and “what ifs.” I want to know that I said yes, that I went, that I loved every second of it.
So here’s to Costa Rica. Here’s to not waiting. Here’s to taking the trip, holding my people close, and making every moment count.
Wherever spring break takes you—whether it’s somewhere tropical or just home for some much-needed rest—I hope you seize every second of it. Say yes, take the adventure, soak it all in. Safe travels, and don’t forget to be present.
Confessions of a Hot Mess will be back after the break… with a surprise! Stay tuned.
Can’t get enough of Confessions? Me neither! Check out the official Substack for extra content!
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Confessions of a Hot Mess is the personal work of Emily Hess. The opinions expressed in this column, as well as those published in The Nevada Sagebrush, are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Sagebrush or its staff.
