Isabelle Ruff | Copy Editor

I worked tirelessly throughout high school to get good grades, participate in the right extracurriculars and do community service in order to get into the right college. And now that I’m here, I find myself working two jobs, trying to keep up my GPA and joining clubs in order to build a strong resume.

While being dedicated to your studies and working are both good things, you are still a young adult — emphasis on the young. College is a time of occupational discovery, but also self-discovery. We should be cultivating growth in all areas of our lives, remembering that we are not yet in the 9-to-5 lifestyle and should bask in such a time before it is over.

Your job will not be your defining factor. Your personality, faith, social life, relationships and more all pool together to create the person you are and will become. Some of these areas are nurtured by seriousness and perseverance, while others are uplifted by spirit and laughter. But throughout all, joy is a constant stimulant.

Having joy allows for contentment and steadfastness in all things. Embark Behavioral Heath say that happiness is more of a fleeting feeling, whereas joy is a lasting state of mind. Joy is a choice — happiness is a feeling. Joy is cultivated — happiness is caught.

So, we need to cultivate joy in all areas of life so that we don’t become robots in the 9-to-5. The best role models for joy are children. Childlike joy, according to the Los Angeles Times, stems from feelings of wonder and awe, a desire to unapologetically seek to learn and to enjoy. This kind of joy has been shown to improve physical and mental health.

Children spend time being curious, letting their wonder and whimsy lead them into worlds of discovery and imagination. They don’t get weighed down by the “no’s” and “try again’s,” but instead get up, forget their struggle and jump right back in.

This attitude can be implemented into everyday college life. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be upset when you get a bad grade on an exam or lose an important relationship. It merely means that making spaces for frolicking and wonder is crucial to maintaining a childlike joy. Spend time outside without music or homework, but let your mind wander and inspect the intricacies of nature. Do something out of the ordinary just because it makes you feel like a kid.

This isn’t childish. It actually shows your maturity in recognizing the comfort and freedom of pure, childlike joy.