When “the feeling of being alive” is input into a Google search engine, the official definition is “having life; living; not dead or inanimate.” Although true, this take seems unworthy of being the topic of this piece. Personally, I associate the feeling of being alive with excess adrenaline or surplus amounts of serotonin. To me, the feeling of being alive qualifies as acknowledging your own existence. To some, that is taking a moment to control their breathing pattern, letting the sound of one’s own heartbeat drown out their environment, even if only momentarily. Others, like myself, may associate the feeling of being alive with growing one’s wealth in terms of experiences — those that make it impossible to be anywhere else than carelessly present; bucket list items, such as the glorified activities of cliff jumping or skydiving — as opposed to wealth in terms of money. 

Perspectively, to feel alive is to feel awake, aware even; it’s essentially a change in the mind-numbing routine that seems to be the vicious cycle of everyday life. I often hear the acronym “Yolo” tossed around by individuals prior to taking risks, meaning “you only live once.” But with this, I disagree. You only die once. You live every day. Choose to live aware, choose to live awake, choose to take the next quiet moment that presents itself, and let your heartbeat act as white noise, static from your routine, even if only momentarily.