Cheerish Every Moment | Teen Ink

Cheerish Every Moment

February 28, 2009
By Aowd Ali BRONZE, Greensboro, North Carolina
Aowd Ali BRONZE, Greensboro, North Carolina
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

As a carefree child growing up, I used to view life as perpetual, thinking that my friends would laugh with me again tomorrow, that we would spend 8 more hours together and have endless fun. All this and more was what I expected each day. When tragedy struck in 2 weeks before my junior year in high school , however, I suddenly became disillusioned and reached a new realization. Life is like the wind; it comes and goes as quickly as it first arrives. I met her on the first day of 6th grade. As everyone filed into the classroom, I remember hearing the crawling sound of a motor so I turned around to look. There was a young petite girl sitting in a remote control wheelchair bravely facing the stares of people around her. During recess, I saw her alone on the blacktop watching with wonder at students playing football or jumping ropes. Seeing that she might be lonely, I walked over to strike a conversation with her, and immediately, we became friends; her name was Jazmine. Over the course of the next two years, our bond grew stronger as I read with her during recess, ate lunch with her, packed her backpack, and walked her to the bus after school. Come the summer of 2007 grade, it was time for us to part - temporarily at least. I had to go to Africa for the whole summer, while she spend time with her family in New Jersey. We looked forward to continue our relationship and being reunited in 11th grade. It was only the first two weeks of August, when my mother received the tragic news and told me that Jazmine had died from cancer. Stunned and shocked, I didn't know what to do or what to think. When i was talking to her on the phone last night. It was my first experience with death and I never saw it coming. My heart dropped miles into an empty black hole in my stomach. I thought about the promises we had made to keep in touch, disbelieving that they were never to be fulfilled. Her funeral was one of the saddest days of my life. I remember crying so hard and feeling the weight of the world upon me. Seeing her for the last time in her coffin was so surreal, as I recalled it was only months ago when I had made those promises with her, promises that were now lost and empty words. Although 11th grade years have passed, I still haven't forgotten her. Every time I help someone by teaching them or simply cheering them up, I trace my compassion back to Jazmine. Jazmine and I formed an unbreakable bond, but her death taught me something more - the need to value every minute of friendship and make it count for something, whether it'd be an undying memory or simply, a laughing experience. Despite what I used to believe, friends are not forever. One day they might be there, the next day they might not, and you never know which moment you spend with them will be the last.


The author's comments:
Every struggle in my life inspired me to write, every time I come across an obstacles that is trying to stop me from accomplishment my writing overcome all the problems. I have been writing poetry since sixth grade. I have a lot of passion in writing, ever since English courses has always been my favorite subject in school. I continue to challenge my self in writing by entering several contest, speech writing contest, poetry contest in school and out of school, and many writing contest opportunity. Every night in my life I sit down and write a poem by the end of the week I have five written inspiring poem in one week. Where ever I go with me I always have with me a pen or pencil ,where ever I find a paper I start writing quotes and shorts speeches on the wall, desk, books anywhere that I could write in it. I have inspired many students at James B. Dudley High School through out writing and many college students. That inspired me to keep writing more poetry and many stories about my life and how I got there and how I overcome all the obstacles that stopped me from attacking my goal. have an immense passion to major in Journalism, and that's the next step I plan to conquer. Although I Arabic is my native language, I feel like English is more like my first language I learned i want to achieve a career in writing, i want to create a strong legacy that someone will take where I left off. I planned to take Maya Angelou legacy and take it to a further one. Dr. Maya Angelou is an inspiring writer, she put a lot of positive influence in my life.

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