Today, I am a varsity soccer, swimming, and track player who holds two state records. I have over 900 people I know personally on my Facebook. I get invited to every party, every get-together, and every sleepover. I can sing and dance. Girls are all over me. I am one of the most popular guys in school... and I shamefully hide the fact that I am gay every single day of my life. MMT

Today, I was standing in my front yard clipping the hedges when a car driving by backfired. I screamed and instinctively dropped to the ground, covering my head. A couple of the neighborhood kids were walking by on the sidewalk and started laughing at me. I got up and tried to laugh it off too. But the truth is, even though I made it back alive from war last year, I still feel like a big piece of my sanity died in Afghanistan. MMT

Today, my friend just underwent his 15th surgery in 4 years for a rare form of stomach cancer. Today was also his 15th birthday. MMT

Today, after the judge granted custody of our 3-year old daughter to my ex-wife, my ex-wife grabbed my daughter’s hand as they walked quickly out of the court room, and my daughter turned to me, crying, and yelled, "Why can't you come too?" MMT

Today, at exactly 7:41AM I found out that I will never actually see his face, touch him, or hear him speak again. He was the love of my life. MMT

Today, the oncologist who performed my surgery and removed my cancer for good last year, died of cancer himself. MMT

Today, I haven't seen Carrie in 17 years, since she passed away in a car accident on the day of our college graduation ceremony. And I'll never tell my wife that I still think about her almost every single day. MMT

Today, is my 85th birthday and I’m celebrating alone. Sadly, I outlived my brother, my wife, and my two sons by more than a decade now. MMT

Today, after I yelled at one of my employees for her recent absence at work, I randomly came across one of her posts on Twitter. It said, “A failed suicide attempt on Monday night makes it hard to care on Wednesday when your boss is mad that you took a sick day on Tuesday.” MMT

Today, I just made the biggest, drunken mistake of my young life – and I know deep into my core. But the love of my life doesn't know it yet, and I know I have to tell her. MMT

Today, I talked to an old friend who I haven't spoken to in over three months. Last time we talked he seemed to be doing well. This time his speech wasn't clear and his texts were difficult to comprehend. It turns out that almost exactly 3 months he had been diagnosed with brain cancer and had been through emergency brain surgery. MMT

Today, my little girl came home crying because a few rude kids at school teased her because of the wig she has to wear. And as she cried she kept asking me, "Why did I have to get the cancer?" MMT

Today, even though you've been gone almost 3 years, I still wake up almost every morning feeling like I just spent hours talking with you – sometimes I swear I can even hear the exact tone of your voice in my head. MMT

Today, only then did I realize how much I had when I overheard her tell her 4-year-old daughter that they lost everything in the storm. MMT

Today, a chill ran down my spine when my 10-year-old female cousin stood next to me at the buffet line at my wedding reception and said, "I'm not going to eat anything because that's what keeps me so slim and pretty." MMT

Today, I never left her side for 24 hours while she was unconscious, but the very second she came to consciousness, all she wanted to know was if the abusive jerk who put her in the hospital was coming to visit her. MMT

Today, is my 21st birthday. Growing up, I had to share everything with my twin sister. We shared clothes, toys, friends, and attention. Although I hated sharing this for a majority of my adolescent life, I would do anything to share just one more birthday with her today. MMT

Today, I was very depressed about some of my recent troubles and the way my life has been going, so I went out to my place of worship to pray - to find some peace. What I saw there made me realize how small my problems truly are. A little girl was on her mother's lap and had a beautiful smile on her face; and it looked like a happy moment until I saw the large surgery scar on the back of her head, and realized her mother was frantically praying to help her child heal and lead a healthy happy life. MMT

Today, a hurricane devastated my hometown. I'm safely 6 hours away from home at college. I haven't heard from anyone at home in over 24 hours. And I can't drive there because the roads are shut down. I'm sitting warm and safe in my dorm while my family is probably cold and in the dark. I feel so helpless and I have no idea what to do. This feeling of helplessness while thinking the worst MMT.

Today, I realized that even though my brother died almost 7 years ago, when people ask, I still automatically say I have two brothers and four sisters. Wondering how long it will take for this wound to heal and feel normal MMT.