It's been 17 years of mayhem up to this point, on April 2nd, 2020. I'm also writing this early in the morning so that doesn't help it at all. 

But, I'm 17 years old now. It's been such a blessing that God has allowed me to live this long on Earth. Even though I've sinned (some bad, others less) against his rules, he's forgiven me and continues to let me walk this earth. 

And I can't help but feel grateful. Not everyone gets to be as lucky as I am. 

The reason I'm writing this is to express a few of my thoughts. I'm 17 years old now. What's life going to be like for me now that I've survived another year on this hell we call Earth? What about in a year, when I'm that special age? 

Will I still be writing on this platform? I can't guarantee that. That's one of the biggest concerns for me. 

Guys, I'm starting to run out of time. And it terrifies me. 

I've talked about this before if you've been with me since then. I should be excited today, but I'm not. Sure, we're in the middle of a pandemic that's running rampant across the world, especially in the US, but I'm not going to bring that up more than I have to. 

(I have talked about COVID-19 in a video on YouTube if you want to check that out. My name is Hwest 36)

Anyway, I'm honestly dreading my birthdays now. Yes, I get free stuff but I hardly ask for anything, to begin with. It feels like a reminder that I'm going to be graduating in less than a year and I'll be stacked with more responsibilities. 

Well, that's just life, isn't it? It's a game of responsibilities. 

Now, don't take this the wrong way. I did say that I'm grateful to have a chance to live this long, since not everybody has that privilege. There's a ton of innocent people younger than me out there that are dying of cancer or some other form of disease or illness that won't live to see their seventeenth birthday unless a miracle is performed. 

My point is that we have to be grateful for the things we have. There's a lot of times that I catch myself being selfish and unappreciative of what I have. For instance (and this may be silly, but stick with me), I really wanted Burger King the other day, but we were closer to another restaurant that served drive-thru. I complained to my parents that I didn't want that restaurant. Now, I've realized that not everybody can even afford to buy a Whopper from Burger King or even afford gas money to get there. We have to thank God every single day that he's given us the gifts we have today. 

Well, this is getting long, so I'll stop there. If you haven't, please check out my channel on Youtube and check out some of my videos (link below, hopefully you guys can copy/paste...); it would really mean a lot! Leave me any thoughts and/or suggestions below. That's all I have for now. 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWbaAz7hiU8ykfCU4cOq_xw