What is Beautiful About Ordinary Life? The Answer Might Shock You!

What is beautiful about ordinary life? No, seriously, what can you name off of the top of your head?

I, for one, can say that when I take a quick look at my everyday life there is not much that stands out to me in terms of beauty, but when I step back and really examine what makes life so special, that is when there are quite a few aspects that speak to me.

Let me walk you through a day in my life as a college student. I get up, snooze my alarm, sleep in, and then get up again. From there, I slowly engage in what I call my "mandatory relaxing morning" activities. This includes drinking coffee from my pride and joy (my new Nespresso machine) and, typically, watching TikTok as I sit and prepare for the day.

Following this, I put on whatever clothes I have in my closet, pack my bag with a couple of snacks and, notably, a special drink or two that I enjoy (like a gatorade or Arizona iced tea if I'm lucky), and head to class. Due to the fact that I go to a community college about 5 minutes away from my house, it does not take me long to get to school if you do not count the thousands of stairs that separate me from my mandatory Developmental Psychology lecture.

When I do arrive at class, often a few minutes early, I open up my Notion and prepare to write my notes. Then, I chat with a few of my classmates, gather my drinks, notebook, and pens, and finally the lecture begins. I sit for an hour and fifty minutes as I gradually lose focus due to the nature of being in an 8am class. Naturally, I try to listen in, but my attention span slips at times and I find myself presented with a creative "newsroom." This room, much like how I've found the actual newsroom at my college newspaper to be, is a invisible space between me and the lecture. It is a place where no idea is too exciting, and where you can never be too giddy about your ideas. I scramble to return to the lecture on development as my mind turns in circles about my next website idea.

Following my lecture, I grab a 16 ounce iced mocha at the campus coffee shop and head to my favorite spot on campus: the library! Even though I am just one person, I slide into the gaping window and ask the staff promptly "may I have a study room please?" Then, I scurry towards my new dungeon and bring out my laptop to begin my work.

Following multiple hours of saying "I'm going to lock in" and getting distracted by my phone, with some work in-between, I head down to the tutoring center to converse with the tutors about my weekly paper. It is never busy down there, and I am honestly not sure why. The tutors are excellent, merely a few years older than me, and it is entirely free to utilize. So, I spend an hour or so down there talking to writers who, like me, get distracted by their internal newsroom.

Then, I grad salad at the dining hall. I approach the register with a smile, knowing that my favorite staff will be scanning my card, and promptly eat my unusually delicious salad.

Finally, I leave campus to go home and hang out with my family before my online class at the end of the day. That's a wrap!

At this point, you might be wondering why I'm describing my day, and you may even be thinking to yourself "why is this relevant?" Well, let me ask you this, what do you think was beautiful about my ordinary day? If you're finding yourself at a loss for words, let me tell you a few parts about my day that I think were beautiful.

1. Getting the chance to slow down before my lecture. AKA my "mandatory relaxing morning."

2. Having clothes on my back.

3. Drinking coffee from the coffee machine that I got for my birthday.

4. Being close to my college and being able to use a car to get there.

5. Getting to be in a lecture! College is a true privilege. To add to this, learning is also an ability that I am grateful for.

6. Access to technology to take my notes.

7. Having a meal plan and money for coffee.

8. Having access to a library and a private, calm room to study.

9. Access to a tutor. For free nonetheless!

10. Having food on my plate.

11. Having a healthy family and the ability to be around them.

The point of this practice that I've done here today is to show that there are so many beautiful parts about ordinary life. That is the true purpose of FramedDayze, to capture the beauty and gratitude of daily life through photography and writing.

Now you try! Pick up a pen and paper and write all of the parts of your day that you think were beautiful. Aim for at least 5.

If you enjoyed this post, check out my Substack, creative portfolio, and newswriting, each linked respectively.