Recently I spent four days without power after massive wind storms took down the trees and powerlines of my neighborhood. I can honestly say those four days were total hell and without me initially realizing it taught me a great lesson.

With no electricity, my home had no means of communication, no entertainment, and most importantly no heat. And frankly, I was miserable the entire time. The craziest part of it all is within those four days I realized how incredibly lucky I was to live the life I am because of the fact that I wholeheartedly don't believe I would have survived any longer.

At one point my dad had asked me, "Could you even imagine being one of the families in Puerto Rico," and I honestly could not. I could never imagine a reality where I didn't have the life that I currently have.

I spend so much of my life not realizing how incredibly lucky I was to have a roof over my head, food on my table, and enjoying the luxuries I have like going to school each day.

There is a quote from Mario Andretti:

"I count my blessings every day, quite honestly, because I take nothing for granted."

This is something that hit home because without realizing that, I think we all take things for granted from time to time. One of the biggest things in my life that I don't realize how much I and many of my friends take for granted is the ability we have to go to school. We spend so much complaining about the homework, the tests, and the papers that we don't realize so much of the world around us are unable to afford the secondary education that we are getting.

So many people are unable to live with the security of having a lovely roof over their head and a meal on the table whenever they are hungry.

The bottom line is that no matter when I feel warm, safe, and loved, with every step that I take in my life and within four days of me being thrust outside my plush life, I never realized how truly lucky I am.

Just remember, don't take the little but monumental things in your life for granted, because out there is a whole world of people who would kill to have the opportunities we have available to us.

Keep that in mind it's good to count the little blessings in life. Our worlds can be so consumed by the materialistic static around us. Maybe for five minutes, drop the phones and look around and count the people around you who love and support you because they are each a blessing.