I have always been the person to take life for granted. I never thought twice about how blessed I am to live another day, or how there are countless numbers of people, young and old, that are dying each day. But one moment in my life led me to realize that life is a gift. Life is a gift that is provided so that we, as people, can achieve great things and help others. A person’s life can easily be taken away from them in a matter of seconds. We can’t explain or predict death; we can only try to live our lives to the fullest each day so that we are satisfied when we die. I believe that life is the greatest gift provided to humans.

My outlook on life changed last year, on a warm and sunny day in May. It was a perfect spring day, when my own life was almost taken away in the most unpredictable way possible. I see occasional news stories online or on television, headlining, “Teenager struck by a car and killed.” When I saw these, I used to think along the lines of “Oh, that sucks for them,” and then come to think that such a horrible thing would never happen to me. But today, looking back, I wonder why I thought I was protected. I wonder why I thought my life was secure. I didn’t know that on that beautiful spring day in 2009, I would become an inch away from being in the headlines.

I was with my younger brother, crossing a small intersection near the movie theater in my town. I remember a big, white car zooming near us, and then toward us. I remember grabbing my brother’s hand and sprinting across a street. My head began to spin and I had quick dreams about death, and then what would happen to my family. And then my world went black. I was the victim. I had an impact seizure that could have damaged my brain. I had a severe concussion and could not concentrate or think for a week. I suffered from temporary amnesia, which led me to lose my memory of the event. I had many cuts and bruises, and a deep gash on my foot.

From this experience, I’ve developed a whole new outlook on life. I realized that bad things can happen to everyone. Never in my life, had I ever thought about life, or how lucky I was that I had life. I believed that I had many years ahead of me and I thought that I had more than enough days to fulfill all of my dreams. Since the accident, I’ve learned how lucky every living person is to have the gift of life, and I believe that we should live everyday to the fullest. Going through this traumatic accident with my family, I’ve learned what life really means to me. I believe strongly that life is the best gift that anybody could ever have.