Make The Most of Every Day

I know this week has been full of serious, sad blogs and I promise this is the last one this week, but I have to post this. Three years ago today, my life changed in a way I never could I have dreamed. I was in Tampa, FL with Michael on the beach on the 2nd day of my vacation when I called home and found out that my cousin, Courtney had died during the night in a car accident. I didn't know what to do other than turn around and go home, but my family insisted I stay and would not let me come home. It was a week that changed the way I saw things. (I wish I had a picture of her, but I can't find one anywhere. I've been tearing my house up trying to find one, but I think they are at my parent's house. :( )

I was selected to do a feature in our local paper a couple of weeks after her accident and I had to write a summary on what it meant to be 25 (it was about 25, 25 year olds). I chose to look at how much I had accomplished and wanted to accomplish and related it to all the things she wanted to do, but never got the chance. This is what I wrote and I wanted to post it today in honor of her and to remind you that we all need to make the most of every day (from October 2006):

Making the most of today is a priority

When I think about being 25, it hits me that I am now beginning adulthood. To me this means that I have survived the growing pains of childhood, the excitement and often stress of being a teenager, and the party stage known as college at a four-year university. Now it is time to go out into what I have always referred to as “the real world,” meaning not under the shelter of my parents or school, but now solely dependent on me.

I have been blessed with fabulous and very supporting parents who have always worked hard to ensure that I was never in need of anything. They taught me right from wrong and instilled in me a work ethic that I believe has helped me to achieve where I am today. My Nana is my hero. She has always been there for me. She taught me how to stand up for myself and that family is the most important thing in this short life.

When I look at being 25, I think all that has happened in my life. My husband and I have experienced the loss of a parent with the passing of his mother last year. We have purchased our own home and have begun looking at the possibilities of having our own family.

At the same time I look at all the things I have accomplished in my 25 years, I cannot help but to think about my cousin, Courtney. Courtney passed away last month at the age of twenty-one in a car accident. I think of all the things that she did not have time to achieve and how your life really begins after college.

In the three weeks since her death, I have added up the accomplishments I have made since I was 21: college graduation with a bachelor’s degree in nursing, marriage, and establishing a career. All of these things were goals we shared. I ran across a blog on her MySpace the other day. It asked what three things she wanted to accomplish before she died, she answered marriage, going to Italy, and skydiving. That is what really made me think, after college came the most exciting chapters in my life. Do not waste time just planning your goals, but make the best of everyday, for you never know what tomorrow holds.