Value Every Moment by Halle

Value Every Moment by Halle - November 2018 Scholarship Essay

"Sometimes you'll never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory." This quote by Dr. Seuss is one I have always loved and admired. Being a high school senior, students get so caught up in focusing on what comes next, when instead we should all be focusing on what is happening now. There have been many times throughout my life when I did not take a minute to look around and truly appreciate what I had.
I lived in Austin, Texas from kindergarten until eighth grade. When I was 13 years old, I moved to the small town of La Grange, Texas. The transition from a crowded city like Austin to a tiny town like La Grange was definitely a struggle. Eighth grade girls can be very mean, especially when everyone has their group of friends solidified. I was extremely angry at my parents for deciding to make this move, and I questioned how they could have done this to me. I felt hurt, and I did not know where I fit into the new community.
A few weeks into the school year, I met a girl named Emily. I had no idea at the time, but she was going to change my life. Emily and I grew very close over the school year, she was kind, loving, and welcoming. She was beginning to make my transition to this new place so much easier. We started to hangout more and more throughout the year. Slowly I began to look forward to school, I started trying new things, and I began to find my place in this new community. Because of her, La Grange was all of a sudden becoming home, the place where I truly belong. Little did I know that everything would change on the second of October.
We were just beginning our freshman year, and Emily and I were on the freshman volleyball team together. During sixth period, our coaches called the entire volleyball team to the gym over the intercom. None of us really thought anything of it as we had a game that night. I remember thinking that maybe the game time had changed, but the moment I stepped into the gym, I knew something was wrong. My coaches face told a story that I was sure I didn't want to know. They began to calmly explain to us that Emily had a brain aneurysm during class. She was rushed to a hospital in Austin, and they didn't know anything yet. My heart immediately sank, and I called my mom frantic and terrified. We had no information on whether or not she was going to be okay, therefore nobody really knew how to react. We all underestimated how serious this would get.
That night, we received news that she had not yet woken up and she was on life support. Late that night Connor, another one of Emily's close friends, and I decided to go to Austin to be with Emily and her parents. We stayed at the hospital throughout most of the night praying she would be okay. In the morning, we learned that the one thing we most feared was happening. October 2nd was going to be the last time we would have the chance to see her. Emily was taken off of life support, and in an instant everything I knew was different.
I was crushed. I felt confused, hurt, and furious all at the same time. I had so many emotions going through my head at the time, I was empty. How could this person who was so kind, loving and welcoming be gone ? How was I going to be able to go on?
I was asked to speak at Emily's funeral by her parents. To this day, writing that eulogy was the most difficult thing I have ever had to do. For months I struggled to get out of bed. No fourteen-year-old should ever have to go through the unbelievable amount of pain that comes with losing a person you love.
Those 13 months of my life that I was able to know Emily are moments that I will never be able to relive. I will never have another chance to talk to or even see Emily again while on this earth. However, those memories that I made with her will never leave me. I did not realize that some of the most precious moments of my life could so easily slip through my fingers. I deeply regret the times when I did not stop to appreciate what I had. I will never again make the mistake of not living in the present, and I strongly believe that everybody should value every moment and cherish every memory.