It is natural to feel sad and angry when tragedy strikes. We become sad or angry when someone passes away, a terrorist attack occurs, a house burns down, etc. These are all extremely good reasons to be upset. Each and every one of our feelings are valid, they mean something to someone. Just to name a few events that have occurred in the past month or so: the death of Christina Grimmie, the nightclub shooting, a terrorist attack in Munich, the passing of a Quartz Hill High School student and a fire in Southern California that has taken people's homes and lives. These events give us reason to mourn, worry and sulk; we can perform all of these actions, or we can turn it into something positive.

The definition of joy is "a feeling of great pleasure or happiness." The definition of happiness is "the state of being happy." I have always felt that joy was permanent, that even when something goes wrong we can still smile and laugh because we know that there is a reason to. Happiness, to me, is temporary. It's a sudden feeling we get from something good occurring in our lives.

These tragedies that we read about in articles or watch on television seem to push me toward wanting to feel joyful. I know that may sound odd, but it is only because these mishaps make me realize how small my problems really are. We as people tend to get angry or upset with very small, unimportant things. I get angry with my mom for saying to me, "I want you home at nine o'clock" because I want to stay out later. When I really think about it, there are so many children who would kill to hear their mom say those words to them one last time. This irritated me so much, but was really a microscopic issue.

There are plenty of reasons to be satisfied with life, even if you aren't exactly where you want to be yet. We need to keep striving for greatness. Setting goals, achieving them, and standing up for what we believe in. This life is shorter than we expect. Wake up every morning with the realization that it could be your last day here, but do not let that thought scare you. Let the thought of our short lives encourage you to pursue every dream you have, whether it's as small as baking a cake or as big as skydiving. Live your life not in fear of death or what could happen, but live your life by following all of your dreams and accomplishing all of your goals no matter how many people in your lifetime knock you down.

From this point forward, I choose to be positive. I choose to be grateful that I have a mom that cares enough to give me a curfew. Choose to take the negatives in my life and turn them into positives the best I can. I choose joy.