Life is not fair. The statement is not pessimistic, it is a fact. For a greater portion of my life, I’ve only seen sunshine and rainbows. And it wasn’t until I called 911 and performed CPR on my own father three weeks ago that I truly understood how unexpected life was. And it wasn’t until the doctor announced my dad dead three hours later, that I was forced to accept it.

  The endless life-sayings that we call cliche are filled with more truth than we realize. Life is unexpected. Life does suck sometimes. Yet, I wouldn’t give up the 18 years I had with my dad for anything. I didn’t see it coming, and I’m not alone. We all die: that is not surprising. What does shock us is when we fail with utter confidence, when we cry when we expected the happiest of times. One month ago, I was planning my graduation party. Two weeks ago, I was planning a funeral.

  I was always told my smile never fades. I smile at everything and everyone, with no control over it. And when people asked me why, I replied that I had everything I ever wanted and everything I ever needed. I still do. But I’ve lost part of myself: I’m not the whole person I once was. I unexpectedly lost my best friend and I was certain that I would never smile again. One life-saying, though, is still wrong: time does not heal all wounds, it only leaves a painful scar. Learn to expect that. I was forced to.