If you ever need a reason to change your life around, consider reading "Fears and Promises" by Miranda W, featured on the October issue. Your heart will race and your stomach might drop with every word as she describes a day we all pray we will never have to experience: the day we are laying down on the hospital bed, helpless and scared, hearing from our own mother that we're dying. Although Miranda got out of her situation alive and well, she realized how precious and sacred life is. She promised herself she would no longer take it for granted, take her existence seriously, and, when her time comes, leave the world without fear or regrets.

Sometimes humans don't fully comprehend that the miracle of existing on this earth can be taken away from them at any second. "I will never go to bed angry, never leave a fight without resolving it, never forget to apologize when I wrong someone or hurt someone I love. I will never neglect to tell my loved ones just how much they mean to me. I will never be bitter about my life... I will never have a tragic or bitter end to any friendship or relationship. I will never close my eyes to world."

Miranda's not the only one who should be making that promise.