Perhaps the stars were aligned for me yesterday (I guess that is a little impossible since this occurred to me during the day and not the night, but you get what I mean), I read a blog post by my friend Noah about life and then I spent the afternoon at Arlington National Cemetery attending the funeral of one of my best friend’s father. These two events, seemingly unrelated, were actually very related in the sense that they gave me great cause to reflect upon life and how precious and special it really is. While attending the funeral (of which I had never attended a military funeral before) I realized that I was fortunate, that my life is what it is today in large part because of all the many brave men and women who lay to rest on the hallowed grounds I was standing on. These brave men and women gave their own lives for whatever their reasons were for our country, they fought for our freedom so we could live our lives today with all the many freedoms that are afforded us.In return for their bravery, upon their passing the military honors their lives by performing a ceremony that is steeped in tradition, that exudes respect for the very precious thing that we call life. The priest that performed the ceremony related my friend’s father’s ranking in the military of Major to his life in the sense that he was a Major contribution to his family, his country, his friends. His life was precious indeed, and he decided to dedicate it to those that he loved, he lived his life to provide for others.

Life is not something that you arrive at, it is not a destination. Instead, life is a journey, it is a series of twists and turns, ups and downs, it is what you make of it. Whatever path you choose is up to you, but life can take a turn at any moment and come to an end. Life is indeed precious, and we should cherish every second of it, and be thankful for our experiences.

I am where I am today because of the twists and turns that I have taken, along with the twists and turns that others have taken that came before me. To them, I say thank you from the bottom of my heart, and to those that are still out there taking twists and turns to provide comfort for me, thank you. To Rob’s father, thank you for your twists and turns, for serving your country, for raising a wonderful son that I can call a best friend.