On my 18th birthday, I sat with closed eyes and blew out the candles on my cake. Instinctively, I closed my eyes when a cake was placed upon my face, later coming to the realization that my eyes were closed because I was supposed to be making a wish. Eyes closed, I made a wish that I hoped would extend its stay. Although I know the magic of wishes is based on secrecy, my wish is too precious to withhold. On my 18th birthday, I sat with closed eyes and wished for life.

As the year of 2016 descended, the lives of many radiant souls ascended above all the heavens. It became hard for me to appreciate the life I was living when I knew that the lives of such young souls had suddenly vanished. The young people had been robbed of their existence. I wondered why it had been them chosen, such promising young people. What made me more worthy to be able to breathe, walk and laugh? What made me more worthy to be able to feel this way?

It is a tragedy that the appreciation of life is introduced through death. It is a privilege of ours to live and breathe each day. We must appreciate life every day, no matter the circumstances. Yes, life gets immeasurably hard. We all experience our own trials and tribulations, but each unfortunate event is a blessing that makes us the people that we are today. Each day may be a struggle. The measure of your struggle may even be each hour or minute. It is the act of persistence fought through the struggle that molds you into the person you will be.

Along with life comes unfair advantages. Outstanding precedence along with acquaintance with more prominent people remain as some of life's unfair advantages. Not including the aspects of life that we cannot control, unfair advantages in the system should make us want to work harder as people. The placement of unjust benefits in the world constructs and fuels a work ethic in our natives that aims for success. The beauty of life is that, to a personal extent, we have the power to control our success. Our individual input is what makes life worth appreciating. The harder we fight to prevail against the unfair advantages of life, the more appreciative we shall become of our personal lives.

People choose at different times whether they would or would not like to appreciate this gift we call life. The interruption by hapless occurrences in our lives leave us wondering if life is worth appreciating, if it is worth being able to feel. It is absolutely the worst of times that bring the best and that make the persistence worth it. The climb to recovered strength will not be easy, nor be honorable. The things that seem the most honorable have horrid realities that are not entertaining to recall. We will look at things in retrospect and become more appreciative. Once you have reached a state of satisfaction, you will know what life is all about. The life I live, and the life you live, is worth appreciating. It serves as our solemn duty to appreciate the treasure of living each day.