What has been your greatest disappointment? The hardest thing you’ve ever gone through? For me, it was not making a school musical I’ve waited my whole life to be a part of. For my best friend, it’s been moving across the country her senior year. My neighbor? He lost his father when he was nine years old. That girl who sits next to me in science? She lost everything when her house burned into flames. My teacher was bullied all throughout middle school. Our cheer captain? In elementary school, no one sat next to her or played with her at recess. She was called ugly and fat. The girl in California? Her mom was murdered with a pocket knife. And she had to watch the killer stab her mom with that pocket knife a thousand times until she died right on their kitchen floor.

Yet, while walking in this midst of tragedy and heartbreak, we pretend it’s not there. Instead, we pretend that everything is okay—everyone is okay. We are strong. We hold back tears for years and years. Seriously? No—we are fake. We build walls around our hearts. We put on fake smiles, hoping no one will see how hurt we really are.

In the past three months, there have been three suicides at my high school. I can’t help but think we just MIGHT have been able to prevent those. Maybe if I wasn’t so worried about my final, I would have taken the time to smile more in the hallways. Maybe they would have seen it. Maybe it would have given them hope to go on for just one more day. Maybe I could have sat with them when they were eating their lunch by themselves on Tuesday. Maybe they would have felt that they had a friend who cared about them. Maybe that would have given them the strength to endure for just one more week. Maybe, if I kept eating lunch with them, talked to them, got to know their likes and dislikes and fears and passions, and I took time to reach out and be that friend they needed, maybe that would have given them the courage to give life all they got—maybe they wouldn’t have taken that pill. Maybe they wouldn’t have hung themselves that night.

Life has its twists and turns, tragic moments, disappointments—and trust me, your first won’t be your last—but life also has its moments where you feel like you’re a kid on Christmas morning again. Where it seems like the sun shines just for you, and the stars glow, and the birds sing, and the flowers bloom—just for you. We all have these moments in our life, and to think: “No one else knows what I’m going through,” is childish. In fact, it’s ignorant and naïve. We are all facing a battle in life. So be kind. Reach out. Sit by that person at lunch today. Don’t let your life’s regrets be filled with “maybes” and “what-ifs”. Reach out to someone TODAY. RIGHT NOW. Be a friend. You know what pain and sorrow feels like. You know how heavy it is to carry. Lift it off someone—and someone will lift it off you in return. Make someone laugh. Make them smile. Show them their potential. Tell them how great life is. Show them what’s waiting for them just around the corner. You see, If we didn’t have these disappointing moments in our life, we would be incapable of knowing our happiest years. So do a good deed. Be a friend. SAVE A LIFE.