Today, the definition of ‘perspective’ took on a whole new meaning when a ten-year-old boy who is dying of cancer saw me crying outside the staff break room and asked if I was OK. MMT

Today I walked 3.6 miles in just under two hours. 5 months ago I started walking without assistance. 6 months ago I had my last surgery. 7 months ago I left the hospital for good. 8 months ago my son was born by c-section, which left me with Necrotizing Fasciitis. It almost took my life, but here I am. The fact that I am a survivor who lost nothing but skin while many, many others are not so lucky MMT.

Today, many years after the fact, I realized the man she left me for is basically a carbon copy of the man I used to be. I'm a supporter of the phrase “change is good,” but I’m left here thinking that there might be exceptions. MMT

Today, when my eldest son died in a motorcycle accident, he became the kidney donor that saved my youngest son’s life at the last possible minute. MMT

Today, one of my rich friends said he wanted to follow in my dad’s footsteps when he gets out of high school. This confused me because my dad is an auto mechanic and his dad is a very wealthy businessman. But then my friend said, “Because your mom and dad are still married, and your dad spends time with you and your friends, and he comes to your baseball games every week, and he’s there to talk to… and my father just sends us checks from another state.” MMT

Today, I told my 7 year old daughter, “If you work hard enough and never give up, you can get anywhere you want to go in this world.” She looked at me with a smile and asked, “Is that what you did, daddy?” And I after a few moments of awkward silence, I replied, “No.” MMT

Today, I noticed that she always keeps milk in the regenerator several days past its expiration date before throwing it away. I joked with her about it for years, but today, she said, “I’ve never really given you a straight reason why I do that. But the truth is, ten years ago, I tried to chase a bottle of valium with milk straight out of the carton. The milk was bad, it made me gag, and it helped me change my mind. MMT

Today, just after my dad yelled at me for not wearing it, I clicked my seatbelt into place less than a second before the drunk driver in the Ford F-250 swerved into our lane plowed into us, send us off the road and into a drainage ditch. We walked away most unharmed. MMT

Today, I testify that it’s truly better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. 34 happy years came to an abrupt end when she left. It's been over 2 years now and I am now finally moving on. Yes, it still hurts. And yes I'll always love her in some way. But I let her go without a fight, because I always wanted nothing but happiness for her. She gave me all those wonderful years, 4 beautiful kids and 3 grandsons. I may have loved and lost, but I had more than so many ever do. MMT

Today marks a year since I unintentionally came out to my parents only to be met with seething anger and a forced promise to be straight. I finally realize now that my honor, the one thing that bound the contract, is a virtue that I uphold far more than any other. I also realize that the promise itself is an agreement they made, not me, and the two virtues, pleasing others, and honor, cannot always exist simultaneously. The liberty of the truth MMT.

Today, while playing with my 20-month-old daughter, I pretended to be sleeping. She covered me with a blanket, patted my back, then kissed me gently on the mouth - which is exactly what I do when I tuck her in at night. How closely our children watch us, and what they learn from our actions MMT.

Today, I'm considered a medical miracle twice over. The first time, I was 10. I broke my femur bone when I fell off a horse, and the way the femur broke, it should've punctured the femoral artery, but somehow missed. Then, at 16, my kidneys inexplicably shut down. They also came back before doctors even began treatment. Today, now in my twenties, I was diagnosed with stomach cancer. I'm just hoping I can pull out one more miracle. MMT

Today, my best friend is staying with my family permanently until she finishes high school next year. Last month her family was involved in a car accident on the way home from dinner. Her father’s mini-van was hit by an SUV, knocking it upside down, and off a pretty steep mountain road. My best friend’s mom, dad, and younger brother all passed away at the scene of the accident, while my friend walked away with just a few cuts and bruises. Her strength through all of this, and her ability to still laugh at my jokes MMT.

Today, I took a friend for a burger to try to her cheer up after a tough day. When we got our sodas, the kind she wanted was gone. In a state of frustration, she complained aloud about all the things that had gone wrong today. As she was saying this, a middle-aged man who was missing his both of his legs from the knees down rolled up to the soda fountain in a wheel chair. He said to her, "Cheer up, dear. As long as you've got air to breathe, it's a pretty good day." MMT

Today, I awoke to find several texts from my friends either asking if I was ok, or saying they were fine. After a little while, I learned about the deadly theater shooting that happened just a few miles from where I live. The fact that so many of my friends were at midnight showings of batman last night, and one of my friends was invited to see batman at the very theater of the shooting but didn't go, MMT.

Today, I am in Syria working as an amateur reporter for a popular political news website. I was shot at today by a group of armed insurgents. As bullet flew in every direction, I ducked behind a brick wall and crawled to safety inside a school house. I was bleeding – but only barely. When I got to the restroom to clean myself up, I realized I had small cuts/burns on both of my ears. A bullet had grazed each of my ears, missing my head by less than an inch… twice in a row. MMT

Today, my oldest daughter gave birth to a beautiful little girl, my first grandchild, while two floors above, my youngest daughter had her first chemotherapy treatment. MMT

Today, I told my mom about the huge argument I got into with my husband. I admitted that it was my fault, and that I yelled at him because of my own insecurities that were created by the unhealthy nature of my previous marriage. My mom listened and let me cry, and then said, “If you carry old bricks from your past relationship to your new one, you will build the same structure that fell apart before.” MMT

Today, I find myself increasingly unsure about the "American dream." I grew up in a small town, with little abject poverty, in a white middle-class family. But now I'm interning at a non-profit in a city that works with current and former prisoners to get them on track. Seeing them fight so hard for what I've taken for granted, and seeing the laws and odds in their way that almost seem to be designed to keep power in the hands of people like me, MMT.

Today, my mom told me that earlier my sister said 'you know she is really pretty.' And I said thank her for the compliment, but I still can't forget all the times in school when all those popular people told me otherwise. The fact that things from so long ago are still lingering in my mind MMT.