A Risk on Forever

by N.S. Perkins

Do you know one of the most important things I have learned in all my years of life? It’s to listen to people’s advice.

Advice: Always say what’s on your mind.

Show your emotions. Cry when you’re sad, laugh when you’re happy, scream when you’re mad, and kiss when you’re in love. You have every right to feel whatever it is you’re feeling, and expressing it can only help to show who you are as a person.

Without fun, you’ll never find true happiness. You might have all the money in the world, a nice family, and a bunch of cars in the driveway, but you won’t have this spark of joy in your heart.

Try your best, admit your mistakes when you make them, and focus on all the good you do rather than on the tiny faults you commit along the way.

Don’t wait until you’re old or sick or dying to appreciate things. Live life to the fullest. Always.

Surround yourself with good people. The ones who will be there to pick you up piece by broken piece when you go through hardships. The ones who will be by your side through thick and thin, through blazing heats and devastating blizzards. The ones who won’t only be there for the birthday parties and the Fourth of July fireworks, but also for the funerals, for the doctor appointments, and for the days when you can’t seem to pull yourself out of bed.

Making mistakes is not the problem. Badly handling them is. Own up to your choices.