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Not Unobliterable

In a sense, I think teenagers do believe they are unobliterable. 

And it's not necessarily a sense of immortality, as much as it is youth. As it is being unaware of the everyday mundane occurrences that could go awry in a matter of moments. 

I always rolled my eyes when wiser men and women said things like this--when, to me, it was an accusation instead of a matter of fact. 

The more I shake hands with the unexpected, the more I listen, the wider my ears open up to the things these people have to tell me. 

Right now, life is temporary. It is so temporary that with one phone call, your entire life is buried six feet under. 

It is so temporary that every move you make is questionable. 

It is so temporary that every, single breath could be your last--or their last, for that grave matter. 

Old or young, healthy or unhealthy. Anywhere in between. 

We wake up knowing nothing about what the day holds.

Teenagers believe they are unobliterable in a sense that leaves them speechless at a funeral. Numb. Broken in a way their souls can't be mended. 

And with every obituary comes a more permanent understanding. 

Breathe now. Don't forget. 

Love now. Don't hold back. 

Forgive freely. Pray for the power to. 

Make adventures. Take the long way home. 

Stop at the stop signs. Look both ways before you cross a street. 

Never go to bed angry. Kiss them goodbye. 

Hug tighter. Love louder. 

Color outside the lines. Skip that class to put your pieces back together. 

Dance in the rain. Learn new words and use them in conversation. 

Text them randomly. Leave them voicemails. 

Hold nothing against them. Hold nothing against yourself. 

Life is too short to not text the cute boy. 

Life is too short to skip a chance at coffee with a prospective new pal. 

Life is too short to hold the weight of pain and anger and heartbreak on your shoulders.

Spend time wondering about the things that make you who you are.

Waste no time in determining whether someone loves you or not; love them anyways. 

Share your Elmer's glue and glitter. Put your pieces back together, together and in style. 

Let all of your scars and your brokenness blind others in their inspiring brilliance and exclusivity. 

Laugh. Just laugh and smile. 

Let sunlight escape from the deepest parts of yourself. Warm others on the cold and dreary days. 

And don't forget to breathe...

because right now you are not unobliterable.