The phone rings. My sister jokingly says, “ don't answer. She will want us to come home.” But I always answer my phone.
It was a beautiful July day. My sister and I went to a friends house to ride dirt bikes. After a long day sitting in my drivers education, the last thing I wanted was a call from my mom wanting us to come home.

Third ring. My phone usually only rings about five times. I thought to myself. I better just answer and see what she wants.

But the voice on the other end of the line did not sound like my mom.
Three words. Cold, distasteful, and unpleasant.
“Please come home,” she said
“Do we have to?”
“Yes. Now.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Just come home please.”
As I hung up with her, I told my sister we needed to go, and we left right away. We arrived home and my mom came to greet us. I had no idea what to think.
“ Your cousin has been in an accident,” she said.
Then she said three more words: “He didn't live.”
That beautiful day turned into one of the ugliest days I can remember. The rain began to come down harder and harder, falling like the tears from my family’s faces. It seemed as if the rain, like the sorrow, would never end. My cousin's death didn't hit me as fast as the car hit him. Three years. I hadn't seen him in three years and now when I finally did, there was nothing he could say to me.

But his death gave me a new perspective on life.

Life is so unexpected. I don’t know what the future holds. And because of that I take life as it comes. Good and bad. The obstacles I went through only build up my character and make me stronger. I learned to deal with what is thrown at me and turn it into a lesson to make me a stronger person.