'Most people my age don't know what fighting for your life feels like.'
Rayna Arya -- who spent six months in a coma and three years in a wheelchair, but never gave up -- on the lessons she has learnt from her life.
I've lived a happy and somewhat sad life thus so far. The typical 21 year old would be in college, partying all night and here I am, at 21 thinking about death and disappearing forever from the face of the earth.
My life has been somewhat of a challenge, and you can see it. I limp as I can't walk properly and I drool while I speak. But that doesn't mean I can't live a fulfilled life and leave behind a legacy to change the way others see the world. To others, they see me as a crip or a handicap, but little do they know my story.
When I leave this world, this is what I want to be remembered for, my resilience and courage and strength and my will. The will to live and fight each day as it comes.
Most people my age don't know what fighting for your life feels like. To them life is pretty much the same every day -- wake up, go to college, eat a meal or two there, come home, shower, eat dinner and sleep. My life is very different because for me each day is a struggle.
The wisdom I have gained is not to take advantage of the fact that you are able and love the smallest thing about yourself because one fine day that thing may be gone and to love yourself because you only have yourself to depend on and only you will be there for you.
A new poem I wrote yesterday:
Count Your Blessings Twice
Count your blessings twice,
Because you never know,
A day may come when everything is taken away from you.
Count your blessings twice,
When everything is rosy and nice,
Because a day may come when everything is dark and blue,
And you will need the strength to see yourself through.
Be careful, my dear,
For you will never know,
What the future holds,
And you may lose whatever you love.
Love with all your heart, my dear,
For death is inevitable.
Your life may be short or long,
The road bumpy or smooth,
But count your blessings each day.
Rayna Arya is a confident 21-year-old student pursuing design and writing. She has overcome many challenges after suffering a TBI (traumatic brain injury), post a hit-and-run accident when she was just 12 years old.
