I want to take a moment away from the brutality our world is facing and talk about life.

Recently, life has been taken for granted and thrown around like it's something unimportant, when, in reality, it is the most important gift we could ever receive, and it is gone in the blink of an eye.

From the moment we were conceived, God blessed us with a life. Being alive comes with many things: experiences, memories, and relationships. Our only obligation is to live in such a way that we won't regret, but that's one of the easiest said, and hardest done, things I can think of.

Don't waste this gift. With life, give life. Use your time on this earth in an effective, positive way. Donate blood, run a race for charity, give back to your community, adopt, serve, pray, volunteer, worship God, or anything else you could possibly dream to do! Find something you are passionate about and go for it full on.

Don't just exist in this world: experience it and change it. Never let anyone tell you that you can't or shouldn't, because this is your life, not theirs. Use your time to become a better you and, in turn, create a better world. Cherish this life and cherish everyone around you, for your time is short.

Inevitably, no matter how much you put into this life, there will be bad days. Many seem shocked when they come across an obstacle they have yet to face, but don't quit because of a bad day. Use your energy to fix and learn from problems, rather than letting them bring you down. Instead of being defeated or angry, grow from it. Use bad things like destruction, war, and death as motivation to keep living. Don't give up when you see the rest of the world giving up because that's our universal problem: quitting. Think about it, if you let lousy things in this world change your outlook on your own life, you won't ever do the things you could do!

Now, take a deep breath in and let it out.

Feel that? That's life rushing into your lungs and leaving just as quick as it came in. Don't take those breaths for granted. Don't take waking up this morning and having a new day to live as something expected to be there tomorrow, the next day, or the next. Get up and do something. Stop settling for the dull pace of mediocrity. Take this fleeting life and experience it as fully as you can and maybe impact a few lives on your way. Don't get to the end of it all, having lived a life that you look back on and say "I should have." Instead, live in a way where you can look back and say "I did."

Go out and live now, before your time is gone.