She was furious.

She yelled about Cassidy’s grades, our self-centeredness, and  the fact that we were slacking off our chores. 

Every time she yells, I know she’s trying to get a message across, but I usually don’t hear it. It’s like being underwater, and there’s music playing above you. You can sort of hear it, but not really. It’s like every word is cloudy; You know what’s going on, but you can’t hear the words.

I knew I was slacking off with my chores. I knew I waited untill the last minute to do my homework. I knew I was being inconsiderate.

The more she yelled, the more I realized what I’d done. The house was a mess, and I was only picking up 1/5th of it, if that. 

It was only until she started to leave that I realized, there are more important things than the color of my braces.

More important than what haircut I’m going to get. 

More important than what outfit I’m going to wear.

At the end of the day, if you haven’t helped anyone, what are you really doing with your life?

You wake up.

Eat breakfast.

Be crabby.

Go to school.

Dread it.

Leave school.

Be crabby.

Play on your phone.

Don’t do your chores.

Do your homework at 7:00.

Go to bed at 11:00.

What did you do to help somebody? Nothing.

And just exactly how happy are you? Not very happy.

So instead of trying to let school pass by, enjoy it. Participate. Because pretty soon, you won’t be at school. Hopefully you’ll have a job. But if you slacked off in school and let It pass by, you might not have a good job. You might be living in your Mom’s basement, making money off of whatever you can sell from your closet on the internet. Don’t be the person who regrets their whole life because they made the wrong decisions.

It’s not too late.

Be the person who can come home at the end of the day and say, “I helped somebody today.” 

It doesn’t take some amazing revalation to change your ways.

All you have to do is help someone. 

Whether you donate shoes to your school’s shoe drive, or help an old lady cross the street, you did something for someone other than yourself.

You made a difference.

So from here on out, change your ways.

When your Mother asks you to rub her feet, do it. Because one day, you may not have anyone’s feet to rub.

When you see  a neighbor struggling to carry in their groceries, help them. Because one day, you’ll need help carrying in your groceries, too.

When you see someone having a bad day, flash them a smile. Because one day, you’ll be feeling blue, and a smile can make your day.

So next time you see someone who needs help, help them. Because if you just pass life by like it’s a train station, there’s no going back. 

As far as we know, you only get one life. 

That means one chance to make a difference. 

So take the chance.

I promise you won’t regret it.

Think about it.

‘The universe wants to be noticed.’ 

                                                   - John Green-The Fault in Our Stars