How many times have you wished that you could go back; wished that time travel was real? How many times have you wished that you could pause the good moments and fast-forward through the bad? But the truth is, as much as we want, or even need, second chances, we don't get to go back in time. There are no "do overs" in life.

In the past six months, I’ve had my fair share of goodbyes. I lost two grandparents, ended a serious long-term relationship with the boy I thought was “the one” and had to bid an unexpected farewell to my furry, four-legged best friend.

In the beginning, I went through the motions associated with goodbyes; I questioned the past- the things that I did and said (or that I didn’t and wished I had). I spent hours wishing I could have more hugs, another date night or another slobber-filled doggy kiss. I longed for the simple moments and pleasures that I had once taken for granted. I was angry that I failed to appreciate the time spent with loved ones that would now ever be again.

Meredith Grey was right; you never think that the last time is the last time. You think there will be more time; that you have forever- but you don’t. The future is unpredictable, the thing is, there is no guarantee of tomorrow, or the next hour, or the next minute.

But through all the emotional goodbyes and tears, I realized one thing -- life goes on.

It was just a few years ago that the expression YOLO came about. YOLO became a common phrase that was plastered on t-shirts, coffee mugs and, in some unfortunate cases, tattoos. But it wasn’t until I experienced such great and unexpected loss, myself, that I began to think about the message deeper than those four little letters.

We bite our tongues to avoid arguments with friends, we forget to say please and thank you as we are too consumed with ourselves, we hold unnecessary grudges with significant others as we refuse to admit being wrong. In reality, you do only live once, so why not take advantage of everything life has to offer.

Our problem is that in the world, today, we are too preoccupied. We forget to live in the present, we fail to appreciate the fact that each moment in our life is a unique moment that we will only be able to live once.

We spend too much time waiting for something to come along, for Mr. Right to show up, for the dream job opportunity or for the best friend we can call ‘our person’ to enter our lives. We need to stop waiting and start acting. We need to become the driver in our lives rather than being the passenger who sits idly by.

In 50 years, do you want to be telling your grandchildren stories filled with regret, of the chances you wish you took? Or, would you rather tell stories that inspire them to let go of the fear of ‘what if’ that holds so many back?

So many people today live in fear (myself included); fear of the unknown, fear of judgments by others, of failing to meet expectations. So we find ourselves stuck in the revolving door cycle that is our lives. And this is why I’m scared. Scared that one day I will wake up, and it will all be over.

I found that although goodbyes are painful, there is good in them. I learned that sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.

So make a decision, a conscious effort to live everyday to the fullest. Decide to tell your Mom you love her, to say sorry to your best friend, to take your dog for one more walk, to call your boyfriend after class, to go to sleep every night satisfied. To know that if tomorrow your life were to end abruptly, you would be proud of the story you left behind.