As I was shopping for back to school supplies, I happened to come across a few journals. Me being a sucker for journals, I decided, ehh why not? These were not just ordinary notebooks, nay nay. These are special ones that have prompts on every page that get you thinking about yourself and what you want your life to be like.

The back of the front cover is empty, so I decided to write a poem on there.

Life is short, so be aware.
It can be cruel and so unfair.
Don’t put off doing the things,
Or say to someone words that sting.
By the time you’re ready to come to terms
With life itself and what you’ve learned,
It may be too late to say or do
Anything about the things you knew.

When I was in elementary school, it was a requirement to memorize a poem to recite in front of the class. This one was short enough I could remember all the words, plus it was written by my mom. She wrote out the poem, in fancy calligraphy, and drew the accompanying picture, all secured within a nice wooden frame.

It reminds me to live every day to the fullest. It encourages me to think about every little thing in this way: If I do “thing”, will I either regret doing this thing, or will I regret not doing it?

In other words, when I’m on my death bed reflecting on my life, do I want to be filled with regrets about the things I did or didn’t do? Will I have had the courage and discipline to do things on my bucket list, or was I too afraid, too fearful to do anything?

What about things I said, or didn’t say? Did I tell my family I loved them every chance I had? Did I share my life with them – my wants and desires? Did they know who I was, and what I stood for? Or will I be lying there wishing I had said more?

I want to look back with my heart swelled with joy, knowing I lived every day to the fullest extent. Our time is limited; the days are long and the years are short, so why waste it?

I strongly believe that we can truly do whatever we set our minds to. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” is my mantra. If I want to do something, I don’t pay attention to the difficulty level. I focus on, “I want to do this, so I’m going to do it. Whatever it takes, I’m doing it.”

At the end of the day, life is hard no matter what you do. It all comes down to what you want your “hard” to be.