I was born with congestive heart failure, did you know that? The fourth chamber of my heart wasn’t formed and I almost died. They kept me in the hospital waiting until I was strong enough for surgery and people were praying for me around the clock, so I’ve been told. Then, one day, yep…you guessed it…a miracle. My heart healed on its own. The fourth chamber is weaker than the others. I had to have tests done every six months until I was five, and wear an ID bracelet until I was 19. If you catch my mom in the right mood, she’ll still cry telling the story. I also gave it the old college try myself when I was seventeen, but alas, I never could cut a straight line.
My point? That’s twice. Twice that I cheated death, twice that I was allowed to stay here instead of move on to wherever it is we go. As grateful as you’re currently thinking I should be, what you’re ignoring is the pressure that can put on a girl. You know, to do something great, be something great. I thought I was on the right track for a while there, but here we are and surprise, surprise, I’m not and I haven’t.
What a waste.