When I think about life all I think about is how much of it I still have to live. Graduate college, get a job, fall in love, get married, and have kids. As I get older I realize more and more how badly I wish I would have cherished my childhood. When I was 13 I couldn't wait to be 16, and then when 16 came I couldn't wait to be 18. I'm going to be 20 this year and I would give anything to be that 13-year-old again.

But, that's how life goes. We grow up, whether we want to or not. Life goes by so quickly it is hard to remember every little detail, but when a life is unexpectedly taken from us we are overcome with a new perspective. Recently, my friend's brother died suddenly. No, we were not best friends. We do not have inside jokes or one-of-a-kind memories, but we did share a smile every day in the hallways at high school and the occasional Twitter favorites and Instagram comments, because even though I did not know this girl on a deep level, humor does not lie, and this girl is hilarious.

I can only imagine what her and her family are experiencing at this moment in time and I wish I could do more than send my prayers their way, but God gives His toughest battles to His strongest soldiers. I didn't know her brother and I don't have to in order to realize how much of an amazing person he was and how many people loved him. I didn't know him and still hearing such tragic news made me stop and think about how precious life is.

We all tend to go through life with the idea that there will always be a tomorrow. What if there isn't? I don't think I've ever given that question much thought, at least not on a day-to-day basis. Life happens, we get busy and our priorities change, but it is never bad to take a step back and count your blessings or realize that as bad as you think your life is...someone out there is fighting an even harder challenge.

Religious or not it is hard to deny that you were put on this earth for a purpose. It may take us all of our life to figure out what that purpose is, but you have one. The idea that one day it could all be taken from us in a blink of an eye is terrifying; however, it's the stone cold truth. We can deny it as much as we want but there is no time limit for how long we are going to live. As harsh as that sounds that's just how life goes.

For all of us here, right now, I believe it is our duty to laugh a little harder, breathe a little deeper and live life to the fullest. Cliche as that sounds, it's true. Go start training for your goal of running a half-marathon TODAY. Tell the people you care about most how much you love them RIGHT NOW. Risk everything for something you strongly believe in, because if you believe in it then that should be good enough. It doesn't matter what other people think, this is your life. So like that Shia LeBeouf YouTube video says: "JUST DO IT." Tomorrow could be too late.

I'm not an expert on life. Nobody is. We all are experiencing every new day together. We don't take enough time to think about it, but life really is fragile and precious. It's sad that it takes an event such as losing someone for us to think about life in this way. Life happens, and just like that it can be changed forever.

Count your blessings.

Say "I love you."

Eat Chick-fil-A.

Stay humble.

We're all in this together and even if we can't save a life, we can make sure that we make ours count even more because we only get one. As long or short as it may be, it's the only one we get,
and I don't think a little reminder of that ever hurt anyone.