Almost everyone has heard the saying, “Don’t cross oceans for people who wouldn’t cross a puddle for you.” I’m here to tell you why this is crap.

Do cross oceans for people.

There are 100 years in this life, 365 days in one year, 24 hours in each day, 60 minutes in one hour, and 60 seconds in every minute. It takes just one seemingly small, average second to have a single drop of bitterness steal away who you are and everything that you stand for. Soon, that one second turns into hours, days, years - and before you know it this is your life, that was your life.

When I was little, my grandma would ask me what I thought I wanted to be in my next life. I’ve always loved butterflies because of their eye-catching colors and how easy it was to become attracted to the grace in the way they flew, so I thought maybe I would like to be one of them. The thought of having a second chance to undo all of my mistakes has always felt very reassuring to me. But, I truly don’t know if reincarnation really exists or if it is just a coping mechanism to forgive ourselves by saying, “I will be better next time.”

I do not want to abuse my abilities or lose my opportunities to love people just because I think that I can do it better the next time around. Because what if this life is the only one that we have? What if this is the only chance that we get? Please, do not gamble your life away due to the uncertainty of “next time.” Live this time, love this time.

Do not let the bad things that others do to you make you feel small, less important, or that the things you do don’t matter. Because you matter and what you give to other people matters. You can disagree with the things that a person does but still love them as a person, and you have every right to protect yourself from the way some people treat you, but don’t let that change the way that you treat them. You were given the ability to love so you could give that love to other people, to all people, at all costs.

This world is filled with too much hate for you not to share all of the love that you have inside of you. Love everything - every flower, every storm, every person you meet, and everything that you see from the

moment the sun rises until it sets again. The world is under attack with the amount of mistreatment that goes on inside of it. It is desperate and hurting, and it needs somebody like you. So please, cross oceans for people.