InFluential_Magazine_March_April_2017
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Teen<br />
Taking Things<br />
FOR GRANTED<br />
You hear this all the<br />
time growing up,<br />
“Don’t take things<br />
for granted.” I don’t<br />
think we realize just<br />
how much we take<br />
for granted, especially<br />
here in the United<br />
States, where we<br />
have the abundance<br />
of choices<br />
and options.<br />
kWRITTEN BY PRISCILLA GLENN<br />
Then suddenly, your entire life can<br />
be turned upside down. A sibling<br />
passing away. A parent losing their<br />
job. A house catching on fire. Perhaps<br />
you’ve never experienced moments like<br />
these. That’s fine. To be honest, neither have<br />
I. My life has never suddenly been turned<br />
upside down. My life has been shaken<br />
though. It’s during this time reality kicks<br />
in. I realized I take stuff for granted.<br />
What type of things? Honestly, way too<br />
many. I have food on the table, money to<br />
go on vacations, nice clothes to wear, a<br />
warm bed to sleep in, the ability to vote,<br />
the ability to write an article and voice<br />
my opinions. I have friends and family.<br />
I have a laptop to write this article on.<br />
I’m currently earning my undergraduate<br />
degree, about to graduate. Gosh, when it<br />
is all written down, it becomes obvious<br />
I’m very blessed. It’s not pride. I’m not<br />
boasting. It’s just the way it is. There are<br />
many, many things for which I should be<br />
(and am) extremely grateful.<br />
But, there’s one thing you can’t buy<br />
no matter how hard you work. One<br />
thing you didn’t choose. It was given<br />
to you and it can be taken from you<br />
at any moment without warning. Your<br />
life. Your parents brought you into<br />
existence. You didn’t bring yourself<br />
to life. Now you are maintaining the<br />
life they brought into existence. But,<br />
so often we say, “This is my life.” But<br />
I wonder, is it really? Think about it.<br />
You have done nothing to warrant<br />
“bringing you to life”. But, in the same<br />
way, it is “Your Life.” You’re the one<br />
breathing and eating and experiencing<br />
life. Your emotions are your own, the<br />
choices you make (and the results), the<br />
thoughts you think. Those are yours.<br />
In a moment, that can be gone. At<br />
the end of this past summer, I received<br />
a phone call from my mom telling me<br />
that my aunt was found on the floor<br />
unconscious in her room with a brain<br />
hemorrhage. We never saw it coming<br />
and she never woke up. Now, recently,<br />
I received another phone call. This time<br />
my uncle, my late aunt’s husband, had<br />
a heart attack. He has moved on from<br />
this life. I remember standing in silence<br />
on the telephone. What do I say to that?<br />
I was filled with grief but more than<br />
anything, I was shocked. I stood there,<br />
stunned by the idea both of them had<br />
passed away. How can both of them be<br />
gone? They weren’t old. They were both<br />
under 60. No one expected either of<br />
them to die, but they both did. It is their<br />
sudden deaths that warrant this article.<br />
I didn’t write to seek your pity. I didn’t<br />
write this to be a downer. I wrote this to be<br />
a message to all those who are taking their<br />
life for granted. I tell you this now. Stop. Look<br />
around you. Life is fragile. Life is precious. Life<br />
is a gift. It was given to you and you don’t<br />
know when it will end. So make sure you<br />
use it wisely. Live life to the fullest. But, most<br />
of all, live your life well so when it does end,<br />
you lived a life worth living. l<br />
324 TEEN FLUENTIAL MARCH / APRIL <strong>2017</strong>
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