I am seventeen at this particular moment in time. To be more precise, I am 17 years, 10 months, and 24 days old. Give or take a couple of hours, of course. But that’s not the point, is it? The point is, I am seventeen years old, and already am scared of Death. What if I don’t complete everything I am supposed to? What if I don’t get to experience the magnificent life that everyone grows up expecting to experience? What if I don’t get to meet that one soul who is meant for me? What if I don’t get to say good-bye?
It is questions like these that make my fears real. My mother’s father died when I was just two years old. Everyone says that I have a similar personality to him, and I enjoy similar subjects to him. I have one picture of him where we are together, and I could have been more then one. If he could die when I was just two, then anyone else around me could die at any time. This is why I believe in the moment.
The moment that you are in is everything. You can do anything in a moment. A moment can bring life; just as a moment can bring death. In a moment, you can win a race, or you could lose everything in a house fire. The moment is now, and is one of the only certain things in life. The future has yet to happen and the past is unchangeable.
“Live every moment like it is your last, because one day it will be.” “Seize the moment.” “Carpe Diem.” These quotes are all out there, but how many of us actually live like this? How many of us don’t attempt something because we are too scared to try? How many things aren’t attempted because of what society thinks about that action?
I have held myself back from doing things that I have really wanted to, simply because of a fear. Perhaps the best example would be Student Council. I spent all four years of high school, wishing that I was in Student Council. I wanted to make a difference in our high school. The only reason I didn’t even attempt to join this organization, was the simple fact that I would have to go through an interview with my peers to join. I didn’t think I could handle it. So, I didn’t.
Sadly, I have come to realize all too late that the things that are the hardest to do, are often the most worthwhile. Without this principle in your life, you won’t be willing to attempt anything new. Without changing your life, you can never grow, and if you never grow, you will never succeed in life.
I came to you as a 17 year, 10 month, and 24 day year old teenager who hasn’t fully lived her life yet, to plead with you to simply live your life to the fullest. I leave you as a 17 year old who has a purpose in life; to live her every moment like it was her last.