To be quite blunt, I've been taking a lot of things in my life for granted lately. I complain about how few miles to the gallon my car gets when I should be thankful I even have a mode of transportation. I whine when I have to wake up early to babysit when I should be jumping for joy that someone is literally putting their children's well-being in my hands, and I get paid for it. For some reason, though, this past week I've had a totally random change of heart and realized how absolutely, positively, stupendously freaking cool it is that I am a human and I am alive right now.

I don't know if it's because I'm sentimental about leaving high school or because I've been preparing to help lead a church camp or even because the anniversary of a dear friend's death is coming up, but something in me has made me so excited about this life I live. This past week I spent a few days at Lake Tiak O'Khata with some fantastic girls who are super dear to my heart. We laid out, made dinner and dessert, and even flirted with some decently attractive lifeguards (because why not?!?). We talked for hours about school and God and boys and our futures, and we even drove to Starkville just to eat salads and get our ears pierced together. After stomach aches from undercooked pie and a total of seven piercings between four of the six girls, I sat in the front seat of the Pilot and realized how cool it is that I was placed on this earth at this exact moment in time. In all of eternity, on all of the planets, out of all of the continents and countries and states and cities, I, Bailey Shelton, an 18-year-old with a huge heart and a bit of an attitude, am here.

I am here. I am healthy. I am thankful.

I interrupted a Rihanna jam session to mention to the gals how nifty it is that we are all alive at the same time, and we choose to spend our time with each other. Another girl spoke up and agreed, saying how neat (and rare it is in these days) that we all just spent the past two days simply living in the moment and being together.

Since then, I've been attempting to see the beauty in everything. Like, it's so cool that we all have different hair and we know how our own hair works and how to take care of it. And it's so interesting that every human's taste buds react completely differently to the substances that touch them. Mostly, though, I think about how reassuring it is that no matter how stressed I am, how mad I am, or how tired I am, the sun is always going to rise the next morning. There will always be waffles at Waffle House. Target will always have the cutest sandals. Fish won't stop swimming. And life will never be something I will take for granted again.

In writing this, my hopes are that you too realize how crazy and beautiful this world is. We are all so broken, in more ways than we can imagine, yet there will always be another day that allows us to start over if we choose to do so. There will always be more sugar cookies to bake and more books to read. You can always end your days with an episode of Friends, and there will always be a pool somewhere to jump in. Life is so fleeting. We are here for only a blip in eternity. So, wake up early, enjoy your coffee, smile at strangers, pray often, eat well, and live wholly, always looking forward to tomorrow's sunrise.