It was a nice winter morning, sunny and cold. As I got out of bed I could feel the freezing floor press up against my feet. I put my boots and coat on to prepare for the cold temperature I shoveled the driveway. I really don’t want to be doing this I thought to myself. Up down, up down, I paced down the driveway as I cleared snow. Finally, I was started shoveling the last strip of snow, until I got the interruption that would change my life forever. My sister stepped outside onto the icy front porch and yelled
“Lance Mom needs to talk to you now!”

I started walking towards the house thinking to myself what did I do? Am I in trouble? Do I have a bad grade? Minor scenarios run through my head as I walk in the house. Tears ran down my mom’s face as I asked her what happened. She told me
“Uncle Donny got in a car accident, he’s dead.”

I was speechless, my uncle and I were so close, and living without him is going to be hard. I thought I would never get over the tragic incident, but when I did some major lessons had come out of the loss.

We all take things for granted such as waking up every morning, being able to go to school, and hanging out with friends. As I got up that morning my uncle had died, I thought of it as just another morning. I didn’t really appreciate that I had the ability to get out of bed, put clothes on, and help my parents by shoveling the snow off of the driveway. As I was being selfish, my uncle’s life was taken by another driver. That one accident changed my life forever. It was the first loss I had experienced and it taught me to not take anything for granted. Appreciate every moment in your life because it could be your last. If it weren’t for my uncle, I might still be taking life for granted. When my uncle was alive he appreciated the little stuff in life the most, such as the Detroit Tigers, Michigan football and his dogs. He taught me life lessons all throughout. Live life like you are dying because you never know what day might be your last.