I have found it important to treasure every golden moment that life brings. To treasure that time when your with your friends and laughing so hard you can't breathe, and those moments when your with your family and feel like you couldn't possibly love them anymore, and even when things are looking grey, to be happy with what you have, and know how lucky you are.
I guess the earthquakes I have been through have taught me that. ( 7.1, 6.3, and many 5's hundreds of 4's and thousands of 3's on the ricter scale ). The quakes have taught me what really matters in life.
Friends, family, love and laughter.
The quakes for me have put everything in perspective. What is important and what is not. People say alot about how we have been through so much and we are so brave compare to some. When really, I am a normal person, with no extra bravery than your average teenage girl, no extra courage or strength hidden away, I am a normal person. Sure, I guess we have been through a lot, but what people don't realise, is that we are still going through a lot. People don't think about the aftermath of earthquakes. We are still under stress. Friends at school are still 4 years later traumatised by the quakes. A train will go past and we will instantly panic and dive under a table, we hear a rumbling noise and our hearts are in our throats and adrenaline pumping. We have all be affected in some way, and the fears will never go away. I remember walking terrified into brick buildings, because those brick buildings were the ones that crumbled in earthquakes, and trapped people inside. Even today I become shaky when I go into an appartment block. Because I lived in a 4 story appartment when the quakes hit. The buildings would sway and shake with the movement, and honestly, I feared for my life, quite literally.
But then again, I feel the quakes have made me stronger. I have learnt what is really important in life. I went from someone who worried about what clothes they wore, and what others would think, to someone who embraced being themself, who embraces all things true and beautiful, who isn't afraid to diverge from the crowd, who spends their life doing what they enjoy, being who they are.
So don't be afraid, enjoy life and treasure each glorious moment, because everything can change in a blink of an eye. Don't worry about tomorrow and don't get caught up in the past.
Live in the now.
