Embrace today.

Early this morning, Madera South lost one of its first valedictorians. I was never close with Landon Guglielmana, but I was around him a lot, seeing as I was a dancer and he was a football player. When we did "The Wizard of Oz" last year, he was part of the ensemble whenever he could be, and I remember seeing him every morning in Academic A, smiling and wearing his letterman jacket. When I found out about his accident this morning, I was shocked; a lot of us were. The entire school just seemed different. Half the students, mostly underclassmen, didn't know him, but everyone who did was in complete shock. I still am; how could a kid who was voted "Most Likely to Succeed" just suddenly die at eighteen? He was a Christian, an amazing athlete, a fantastic student, and an all-around great guy...

The more I think about the situation, the more it gets to me. I'm having a bit of an existential crisis tonight. They always say the good die young, but it hits you even harder when it's someone you knew. If it could happen to Landon, what about me? There's always a chance that someday in the near future, I could fall asleep at the wheel, too, or someone could hit me, and I'd be dead on impact, just like him, and it terrifies me. Life is incredibly short and incredibly fickle. I know that, but I really only think about it once and a while. I say this all the time, but after today, I really mean it: I'm going to do everything I can to live every day as if it might be my last. I'm done with regrets, I'm done with wishing for more, I'm done with thinking about the past. Whatever happens after tonight, tomorrow, high school, et cetera, I'm going to embrace it and make the best of it. If I never hear from most of my current friends again, I'll just have to be okay with that and move on. If life throws me a curve ball, I'll have to just accept it and make it work. As much as it sucks sometimes, life is precious, and I refuse to waste it, because I have no idea how much time I've got left, and before I die, I want to accomplish everything I can.

All I need to do now is remember to embrace this attitude for the rest of my life. It always seems to come and go, but I can't let that happen anymore. From now on, I'm going to live, really live, until I die, and that's that.

Rest in peace, Landon. I hope you realize just how much you've done for all of us.

SXR