Very quickly I am learning that, even as teenagers, we are sometimes thrust into adult situations, and have to deal with things that no one is quite ready to face. No one can ever fully be prepared to lose someone. Recently, I lost someone in my family, and I don’t think I will ever fully be ready for that. Death is a very harsh reality, although often times we try to avoid facing it. I believe that all people go through several stages after hearing the devastating news. For a split second, we don’t believe it. As long as we don’t acknowledge it being true, then it’s not. But then, it hits us. Some bottle up the emotions while others have a breakdown. When finally the flow of tears starts to lessen, the guilt hits us. Everywhere we look, it feels as though we are doing an injustice to our lost loved one because they will never get the opportunities we have, as simple as smiling or laughing or walking down the street. But what can we possibly do? We can’t bring them back, as much as our hearts beg us to. So we move on. It’s hard and doesn’t seem possible at first, and trust me, I was quite the skeptic of this, as I still am. But I look around me and see all these people who have gone through a situation similar to mine, and they seem fine. At first, I was insulted. How dare they not spend their time grieving? But then, how dare they insult those who have passed on by wasting their life? That was my next thought, and I soon realized that we have to move on, not for our sakes, but for theirs. For our nephews and nieces, uncles and aunts, grandparents and parents, siblings and friends, that have been too soon removed from our presence. What I’ve decided is that it is our job to make each and every one of those angels in heaven proud. I know that every time I accomplish something, my nephew will be smiling on me. I hope someday his brother will feel the same as I do. Even more, I hope that I am able to project my message effectively to at least one person. Hearts break. World’s shatter. Things happen that just aren’t fair. We need to work with not only what life hands us, but also what life takes from us. As much as we all want a perfect life, it’s not possible. Don’t waste time and precious life doing something you know is wrong or won’t accomplish anything. Life is too short; as I’m sure we’ve all heard. Don’t try to rush getting over a loss, but there is nothing you can do to fix it. So eventually, we all have to pick up the pieces and keep going…