Where do I even begin? Life. Did you know there are only two things that happen to every single human? We are born and we die. That’s it. No two people will live a more similar life than what is shared between us all. Life and death isn’t necessarily a fun topic to discuss but it’s life, right? From the moment we are born the clock starts counting down.

You never know how much time you have or what the future has in store for you.

The term “YOLO” (You only live once) is very applicable because we do only live once. We only get one shot to become the best person possible. We only have one lifetime to complete a never-ending list of dreams.

From some of the opening words of Matthew McConaughey’s memoir book, “Greenlights,” it says, “I’ve been in this life for fifty years, trying to work out its riddle for forty-two and keeping diaries or clues to that riddle for the last thirty-five. Notes about successes and failures, joys and sorrows, things that made me marvel and things that made me laugh out loud.” 

His words speak volumes just from this small excerpt. After years of being alive, McConaughey stills knows he hasn’t “cracked the riddle” and makes us ponder questions of our own lives.

Life is funny in that sense. It’s a riddle, but a rhetorical riddle. You can create any answer and it works, as long as it is your answer. Nobody else will have that answer in their lives except you. You can take inspiration from a celebrity, movie character or idols, but you will always have yourself at the center of whoever you choose to be.

Your story is unique. It may not be as action-packed as “Fast and Furious”’ car-jumping, heist-filled, house-being-blown-up type of life or as romantic as Will Smith in “Hitch” as he chases the love of his life around New York City, but it’s still your story.

The song ‘Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield has the perfect lyric for this message, saying, “Staring at the blank page before you…Today is where your book begins…The rest is still unwritten.” 

The book you decide to write is completely up to you. You decide what happens and where the story goes without any other direct input from the others around you. 

Maybe I’m being poetic right now because I’m feeling this moment or because all I really have is my wit, charisma, and love to write and create my own stories, but everything I say to you now is true.

The life you chose to live is in your hands and you need to jump to this call in life and take control of your story. Death is inevitable and the long list of dreams you have will continue to grow. 

Use your time on this planet wisely because it is fleeting and before you know it, it will be too late. So take a break from your phone and look at the world around you. Find the smaller things in life that bring you joy, cherish it, and truly live.

Ferris Bueller said it best, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it,” (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off).