Life is all about living in the moment. I learned a long time ago that dwelling in the past gets you absolutely nowhere. Reliving past mistakes or wishing you could change something that is impossible to change only makes you sad. Don't get caught up in yesterday. Don’t stress the future -- just be present. Every day we wake up in the morning is a blessing. Remember that.

Some of us are discriminated against for our sex, race and/or class. Some of us are born with disabilities or have health problems. Some of us know great heartbreak and loss. Life is hard and it is not fair. Some people have it easier than others. You can either curse your bad luck and scream about how rotten life is, or you can take matters into your own hands. You can overcome the obstacles and you can prove the people who doubt you wrong. The choice is, ultimately, up to you.

We have minds to think and voices to speak. They are meant to go together. Our thoughts are not meant to stay hidden in our mind, but to be spoken and to be heard. If you believe in something, don’t stop because you fear being judged. If it is something you are passionate about, speak. Inspire people -- you never know who needs you to say what they are too scared to say aloud themselves.

As a college student away from home, this really touches me. It is always so hard to say goodbye, whether it is to your family when you are heading back to college, your friends as you part your separate ways or the loss of a dear one. It can be so heartbreaking, but you are only sad because those people bring so much love and happiness to your life. If you weren’t sad, then you wouldn’t care. This quote expands even further for me. It reminds me to be aware of the blessings I disregard every day. I may complain about having to stand on the bus because all of the seats are taken, but at least I have legs to stand with, to run with and to dance with. I may complain about having an 8 a.m. class, but not everyone is lucky enough to be able to attend college. There is always a blessing in the annoying and hard things in life. 

Shout out to my ninth grade English teacher, Mrs. Osborne for handing my class these words on a paper, one day. Little did I know at the time, these words would have so much significance to me five years after I first read them. When I read this quote, I want to dream, and dream big. It is scary to be vulnerable, to take a chance with failure hanging over your head. But if you never try, you have a 100 percent chance of failing . As college students, it is our jobs to pave our destinies. This is when you start making it happen. Live up to your full potential and turn rejection into a lesson, if it comes to that. You have potential to be an are. Don’t waste it.