"Life" by Marcela M.

            A few months before my (half) sister’s wedding, that took place in February this year, her dad had been diagnosed with cancer. She had waited till she was settled into her career, stable and happy with the right man but wasn’t aware that she’d be worrying about the possibility of her dad not being there to walk her down the aisle. Though feeble, he agreed to do so regardless of how he felt that day knowing he’d be quite tired. The week of my  eighteenth birthday, which was also the weekend prior to her wedding, I had learned my maternal grandfather was diagnosed with Leukemia. The next time I saw him and the probably the last time I’ll see him was the day after the wedding when he had decided to go back home to Arizona for the time being. He was never one to enjoy going out if there was a party nor did he ever say much unless he was complaining but this time that he visited he was different. When he talked, he spoke about how happy he was with his life and talked to me about all that he’s done while prior to his diagnosis he would always made remarks about how much he wanted to die and no longer wanted to be alive (in a jokingly yet somewhat serious manner). At the wedding was the first time I recall ever dancing with him and ever witnessing him dance with a genuinely happy expression. Though he has lived quite a long life, seventy-two years old, he could’ve been a lot happier if he acted as joyful as he was during that week. After seeing the sadness in his eyes and hearing that he wishes for another year, after being told he only has two more months, in order to fix paper work for my grandmother and make she sure is settled back in Mexico with the rest of my family, I learned how quickly life can be taken away. My sister’s dad and my grandfather had not thought about life with a possibly soon expiration date.

            Though they’re older and we are young, we oftentimes find ourselves invincible. We think that an accident could never be us and cannot envision ourselves in the place of someone else who has endured something. Our lives can also be stripped away just as easily. We should live always treasuring the moments we have and spending it with those who we love and love us back. This is quite cliché but live is short and we should take advantage of every opportunity because we just never truly know what lies ahead for each of us.

            With that being said, most of us are going off to college. Some are going much further than others and regardless of the distance, don’t forget about your parents. Try and keep communication with them and anyone else important in your life whether it’s a close friend or other relative. It’s important to keep contact and remind them that you’re thinking of them every so often so one day there are no regrets of wishing you spoke to someone more often or called them just a little bit more. It never hurts to show someone you love them.