so for those who are wondering.

Yes...that last post was a little random. Here's the skinny.
When I was in high school, I was a TA in a history class of kids a year younger than me. There were three boys who were best friends. Completely inseparable. And completely hilarious. Mitch, Jeff, and Austin were my favorite students. I adored them. I actually read Mitch and Austin's essays (I was only supposed to grade the multiple choice) because they would put in inside jokes that absolutely delighted me.
Austin was also in my stake. Any LDS people reading will understand that...but for any non-LDS people reading, that means he was LDS, and he lived in the same general area as me. We didn't meet together for church every Sunday, but we did have activities together about every other month. He was also in my early-morning seminary class. Which was incredibly tight-knit.
So Austin was secretly my very favorite. I adored him. He reminded me of my little brother in a lot of ways. And he always made me smile. No matter what else was going on.
Anyway, a few weeks ago, I received the news that Austin had died in a skateboarding accident. This wonderful hard-working, hilarious young man with his whole life ahead of him had died because he was teaching his young cousin how to long board, and had given his helmet to his cousin.
If someone as young and full of life as Austin can die, then I need to do the most I can now to live my life to the fullest.