Life is Short.

You know when you're playing around on your phone and a message pops up and you can see the beginning words of it but you can't read the whole thing?

Well, when this one started with, "Hey, not sure if you had heard, but thought you would want to know..."  There were a few thoughts that came to mind.

1. There's a cool audition coming into town.
2. Something awesome happened.
3. Or something really really bad or sad happened.

I had a feeling it was the third one.

When you get the news that someone that you were once very close to passed away three days ago from cancer, so many thoughts run through your head.

How did I not know that she was battling cancer for FOUR months?  How have THREE days passed already? How long has it been since I've seen her?  Talked to her in a more significant way than a facebook comment?  How have I not met or spoken to her wife, who she has been with over SIX years?  How has so much life passed by that as I read her obituary, I'm learning things I didn't know about my friend?

For me, this is so unexpected.  For her family, it probably wasn't unexpected at all.  You don't usually overcome pancreatic cancer.

I am shocked and sad that such a beautiful person with so much goodness and love left the world so soon.  And I am more sad that I have missed out on so much life with her.

There are people who come into our lives that we love, and we will always love them, even if we don't speak often.  She is one of those people for me.  So I ask, why did I let so much life and so many years get away?

Why do we do that?

When we love someone, we should reach out more.  We should hold the people we love close to us.  Because life is short.

See you later, Stefanie.  I love you.

Why wait?

This year, I decided not to make any resolutions.  But it’s starting to look like I made them without even knowing it…

I think it’s easy in life to make a bucket list of things you want to do and then just push them off until later.  Until I have enough money.  Until I have the right job.  Until I get married.  Until I have more time.

But here’s what I realized:

If you keep living in the future, you’re not living in the present.

What if “until…” never comes?  Then you’ll have a whole life of waiting around for whatever it is you were waiting for, and you’ll have missed out on all the opportunities you had to do the things you wanted to do.

I won’t do that anymore.  I had a conversation with a friend of mine recently that I haven’t seen in years.  He is a world traveler, and I’m just amazed with his life and everything that he’s done and is currently doing.  He pointed out to me that so many people say to him, “I wish I could travel….I wish I could do this or that…” And he says, “Just do it!”  Buy the plane ticket, save a little, and just go!

So that’s what I’m doing.  When an opportunity presents itself, I’m going to take it.  I’m going to do those things that I’ve always wanted to do but was just waiting “until…”  I’m going to go places that I’ve always wanted to go but didn’t think I could “until…”

So far this year (not even two weeks in), I’ve already done a couple things:
1. Snowboarding (SERIOUSLY FUN)
2. Kickboxing (with a punching bag and gloves and everything…LOVED IT)

On the agenda for next month:
1. Spending a weekend with my Godfather (who I just adore and have never had enough time with)
2. Visiting Wine Country (no wine tasting for me though)
3. SKYDIVING!!!  (This is a lifelong goal…and it’s just a little over a month away!)

Sometime this year:
1. A possible cruise (and wait!  It’s a two-in-one!)
2. To either Alaska, New Zealand, or Australia (all of which I’m dying to go to so we’ll see how dates and prices work out)
3. Or possibly Disneyworld (because I have to be realistic, and I if I can’t afford the above, I’m Florida-bound!)
4. Run a 10k
5. Buy a gun

And whatever else comes up, I’m just going to do it!  

Life is here, guys.  Now.  Why wait?