During the course of our lives, we experience moments that change our outlook on life. These moments, these moments of impact, are wake-up calls. We are going through our lives day-by-day going on as if there's nothing else to do. And that's just it. We're merely existing in the realm of our own realities without realizing that there's so much that encompasses our very beings. And it took some realization for me to begin to realize that.

As some people may know, last week I was ran off the road by a careless driver using his cellphone. What could have been a life-threatening situation resulted in only grass stains and misaligned tires. I was pretty shaken up, as some of my friends and family know, and I was left questioning myself and the situation. My car was ran into a cornfield and the car should have flipped. What boggles my mind is the fact that my car didn't. I like to think that this was the greater force in my life saving me. Regardless of what stopped my car from rolling, I have drawn several conclusions that I think shouldn't go unshared.

I take way too many things for granted. I take for granted this amazing life I have, the amazing family and friends that I love dearly, and my support system beyond them. I take for granted that I have a job to go to, that I have a messy room to clean (sorry mom), a laptop to write this very article with. I am so lucky to have these things, and I definitely don't appreciate them enough. All of that could be gone in an instant.

I need to spend my moments feeling nothing but loved and appreciated. None of us have a guaranteed amount of time on this planet; we just don't. We don't know when our worlds are going to stop turning, so do we really want to spend our time being treated like the ground those people walk on? We deserve complete and utter happiness. And sometimes other people fail to see that. And that's okay. It's okay because no one person is perfect on this earth and people mess up. But you have to know your own worth and know that, unfortunately, those people don't deserve a place in your life. Maybe they will change and find their way back into your life. But if they don't, you will be okay. You always have to surround yourself with the ones that build you up. Life is way too short for anything else.

My life has impacted others more than I have realized. I walked into work this past week, and I was overwhelmed by the amount of hello's I got, not just from my fellow coworkers, but from the members that were working out and saw me walk in. It was one of those moments that filled my heart with so much happiness, and I was in a good mood my whole shift. Every person that has ever existed is a water drop. A single drop. Our presence is like that water drop when it drips into a still body of water. The drop causes ripples in the surface that flow out in rings. We influence and impact the lives of everyone we encounter. A smile to a stranger can change their whole day. A kind word or a cheerful hello impacts the mood of someone that comes into my work. We have changed the lives of others around us, and the sooner we humbly realize this, we see how valuable our lives are.

My time needs to be spent with the people I love. Repeating everything I mentioned, the people that matter are the ones that deserve our focus. They deserve our time, and they deserve our love. I have so many great people in my life, and they are not a right in our lives. They are a privilege and must be treated as such.

Do any and all things with love. Going along with the "life is short" mantra, we only have so much time. We only have so many conversations to have and first impressions to make that we cannot let ourselves be bitter and angry all of the time. One of my worst habits is blowing things way out of proportion and getting mad for no reason, and I have realized that I need to break this habit more than ever. Time is short, and the end is inevitable.

I'm really, really loved. Not just by my amazing family, but by my friends. By the people that constantly build me up. By the people that tell me that they enjoy my presence in their life. By the people that tell me I inspire them. You're really, really loved too. Every single person has people that love them unconditionally, and we have to love them back. We have to because they love us through the good and the bad and the ugly.

So maybe your wake-up call will be more intense than mine (even though I pray not), and you'll realize just how much you matter, and how important everything I covered is. You matter. Your time on this planet matters. Make it count. Every last second.