Since I haven’t read any reviews on life, I thought might write one of my own.

Hello, I’m Maria. I’ve lived 5689 days, 136536 hours, 8192160 minutes or exactly 491529600 seconds. Throughout all of this time I’ve experiment numerous emotions. I’ve been angry, happy, excited and like most of us, I’ve loved and I’ve lost.

The journey begins with birth, the miracle of birth. I’d be lying if I told you I recall my birth, because I don’t but if I try I might be able to imagine it: nurses and doctors running around a hospital room, the screams of my mother who is more than anxious to meet her first baby girl, the doctor slowly reaching to grab my body and as soon as my loud cry is heard, what seemed to have been taken hours of work was finally over. My mother’s eyes must have been full of excitement and joy, knowing she had brought to life this incredible creature.
My first years of childhood were full of strong emotions that affected my family. When I was only 3 months old my parents got a scholarship to finish their university degrees in Spain. So there I am, with my 3 older brothers struggling to afford the simplest, most basic things in a foreign country. The toughest months came ahead when my brother was diagnosed with Uveitis, a disease that terribly affected his eye vision. Luckily, we were able to come back home where our insurance could provide him the medicines he needed.

As I started school back home, things got a bit easier. My parents got jobs where they got paid better thanks to the studies they had finished in Spain. We finally had a house of our own near our family and not a rented apartment in an unknown city. I didn’t have many friends in elementary school but I was kind of used to it. Over all, I could say I was happy until my 9th birthday.

I got diagnosed with diabetes. The birthday cake I had waited so long was now something I was even allowed to touch. The nurses in the children’s hospital were nice and so were my roommates. I had lots of kids stay in the same room with me, they were all different, some were older and some younger but the only word I’m sure I could use to describe them all is inspiring. I got along well with my diabetes for the next couple of years and I must say today I owe all my strength to those kids that I meet at the hospital.

As I got into High School I became close with a couple of friends, one in special. He is the most passionate and loving human being. He stayed with me when I felt miserable and made me laugh more than anybody was ever done it before. He truly brings out the happiness inside me. Out of all of the wonderful things he did for me, the one I appreciate the most is that he thought me to love myself no matter what. A lesson everybody should apply in their own lives.

And if anyone is wandering how am I doing right now, I’d like to say I feel glad that I have something which I’m really passionate about and that is writing. My main goal in life is to one day write for New York Times or Vogue and have a lovely apartment in New York City where I can sit and take my time to write graceful things I feel proud of. But for now what I’ve learned about life are a few things:

Number one: Life is full of surprises. Don’t be foolish and think you know how it’s going to be because things happen when you least expect them.
Number two: Don’t give up. Whenever you are going through the hardest times, suddenly everything is going to get better. When the darkest hours of the night are happening, the sun is just about to rise. The night is just about to be over. You’ll be fine. Don’t give up yet. The sun is about to come.
Number three: Stick to those that keep you positive and going.
Number four: Dedicate time to do what you love, what makes you the happiest.

Hello, I’m Maria and my time isn’t over yet. I’ve got a whole life ahead and I won’t let anything stop me from accomplishing what I want. Thank you for reading this. Make the best out of your life and don’t you ever dare to give up.