Every person has moments that define their life. Everyone will be impacted throughout their lives, whether through big events or seemingly minuscule moments. In my life so far, there are three days that stand above the rest in the ways they affected me.
The first of these three days was an inconspicuous one. To those around me, it was just another day. But to me, it was the day I learned what I wanted to do with my life. I got injured in football and found myself in a nurse practitioner’s office getting checked out for a concussion.
I ended up having a conversation with the nurse practitioner, and he told me a lot about his profession. I had known for some time that I wanted to pursue a career in the medical field, but this was the day that idea was cemented.
This single day has influenced every decision I have made in regard to my career and schooling. By being in that office that day, I found what I wanted to accomplish in my life.
The second was one of the hardest days I ever had to go through. It was the day I lost my grandfather, who throughout my life was basically another parent to me. My parents had me at a very young age, so we went through struggles during my early childhood.
But my grandfather was always there to support us and helped to raise me into the man I am today. Countless days were spent with him while I was growing up. Then, about two years ago he was diagnosed with cancer.
Losing him was maybe the hardest day of my life and has weighed on me since. More so than any other time, this day taught me just how precious life is.
People read and hear about how you should cherish your life and the moments you have with others, but they don’t really understand it until they actually live through it. Through the loss of my grandfather, I learned to cherish every day like it could be my last.
The third was a day that many would probably count in their most important days. It was the day I moved out to college and could finally begin my life and carve out my identity.
The freedom to finally make a name for me, by myself, is maybe the most exhilarating feeling I have ever experienced. It represents a turning point in my life, from my childhood to adulthood.
While it may come off as cliché, I cherish this turning point more than perhaps any moment in my life. The day I moved out represents the day I could take all the lessons of my childhood and finally become the man I want to be.
While these three days are my most influential, my life has been defined by countless moments both big and small that have turned me into the person I am today.
As I continue through my life, I will encounter many more moments that will define me, from graduating college to hopefully the day I find the love of my life. Life is a giant contrasting, paradoxical rollercoaster that you never know when it’s going to end.
The important thing is that I use the lessons I learned from these three days and many more to live a good life and live every day like it could be my last.
