My name is Eric Diaz, and I am a Foster. But what exactly does that mean? Should I be ashamed of it? To be honest, it doesn’t matter what I am; the title or the way I have grown up does not define me. Every day I wake up and I’m just grateful to be alive. If I am to be titled anything, title me as Human. I construct a path that I want to see for myself. I take a hold of my own destiny and daily, I script out the steps I will take next. Some days I mess up, in trying to avoid the same mistakes I’ve committed before; I fall again. But you see, that’s okay, because we’re not perfect. Since birth we are born with flaws; we are the definition of imperfection. Yet, in our imperfection, we must strive to perfect ourselves in the best way that we can. Its not easy, trust me, I try everyday, but the worst thing we can do is allow our mess-ups to keep us from moving on. Thus, I challenge you to spit life in the face and keep pushing forward.
For many, I know the circumstances might seem extremely hard, sometimes even so unbearable that - - well it doesn’t matter, because you shouldn’t allow yourself to get to the point of defeat. Get up, stand up, fight back, stay strong, and march forward. It’s okay to cry; heck, I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to punch the wall, I’ve done it (just be prepared to fix the wall after). But remember, the decision to make a change is on you. Don’t allow others to repress or restrain you; keep fighting back. Of course, I am not encouraging violence, but I am encouraging you to defend and stick up for yourself. Living in a system that constrains us and tortures us at times might not be what we’ve hoped for in life, but we mustn’t give in. A cool thing about being human though, is that we have the capability to make decisions, to turn even the worst and scariest things around.
No matter where we come from, no matter what we’ve been through, its up to us as the individual, to make life worthwhile. It might sound a bit raw, or even a bit cruel, but it is something that cannot be spoon-feed. What I’m getting at is that we should take hold of life and live it to the fullest. The fact that we breathe is a tremendous blessing that we should take advantage of. We’ve all heard it before, that life is just too damn short. Just go out and live it; I challenge you. In those times of hardship and despair, cry when you need to, even break down if needed, but always get back up and live like there is no tomorrow. Heck, you don’t have to smile if you don’t want, but you best get out there and enjoy yourself. Keep true to yourself; don’t be afraid to take risks and limit yourself to the exposure of opinions, critiques, and judgment of others. Again, just be yourself, be human, and hold fast to life.
My name is Eric Diaz; I am human, and though it’s hard at times, I try to live life to the fullest that I can.