"Life is too short," is a phrase that is heard quite often but is not often taken seriously. You never expect that in the blink of an eye your life could potentially change. You, readers, are maybe between the ages of 18-21, the last thing I ever thought of was my life ending short and I'm sure that was the last thing on your mind too. I never thought that I would not have enough time for everything I imagined to do until my friend passed away at the age of 19 due to a diabetic coma. Within 48 hours my life of constant procrastination and the phrase, "I'll do it later" changed to an urgency with a "must do it now" attitude.
I never really imagined dying young. I prepared for having this long life and all of the time in the world to do things. I am currently a Sophomore at Florida State University, the best way to describe me would be 19 years old with big dreams but scared to face the real world just yet. This is the time to be going out and enjoying life but preparing for your future. Unfortunately, I have always feared what was around the corner and have held myself back from so many opportunities because the binge watching of How I Met Your Mother for the 5th time seeing the whole series, can't be interrupted at this very moment. When I got that phone call that my friend passed away, I went through a state of shock and then I thought, "Maybe I don't have all of the time in the world." All of the sudden, as a quick reflex, I opened up my computer and started contacting all of the people I could imagine for internships that I having been putting off but wanting to eventually gain and calling the ones I loved to make sure they knew that I loved them because like my friend Sabrina, may she rest in peace, there may not be a tomorrow to do it all.
Like my favorite author Stephen King wrote, "Life can turn on a dime" (11/22/63) he's very much correct. No one expected my friend to pass at such a young age and seeing all of those young people at her funeral mourning the loss of a good friend, it did not seem right at all. There may not be a tomorrow and like Sabrina's, life is just too short. So all of the opportunities you're scared of, take them. All of the changes that are happening, instead of fearing them and hiding up in your room, embrace them. All of the family members that you sometimes avoid calling because they get annoying, make sure to pick up the phone every once in a while and let them know that you love them. Life is too short to be fearful and a procrastinator, make every moment a productive moment but also allow yourself to binge watch a show every now and then on Netflix.
R.I.P my dear Sabrina, I love you so much and thank you for impacting my life the way that you did and giving me inspiration to write this article.
Thank you, new readers, for reading this, I know it is a little sappy for my first article but I hope some of the knowledge I have gained from this experience can help inspire all of you. I look forward to continuing writing for theodysseyonline in the future.