Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
placeholder article
placeholder article
Style > Beauty

Earth Lovers: Love.

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Melanie Shimano

This is a sponsored feature. All opinions are 100% from Her Campus.

Security is mostly a superstition.  It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.
-Helen Keller

I cannot think of truer words.  No matter how certain you think anything is, it isn’t.  Nothing is forever. There is no eternal safe haven. You need to make the most out of the time given to you because you never know when your entire world may be gone. 

Yesterday, a friend, and sorority sister, passed away.  She was only nineteen years old. I know everything is supposed to happen for a reason, but for what reason does such a young person have to leave their life on earth?  It’s too overwhelming to try and understand, and I can’t even begin to imagine what her family and closest friends are going through.  It’s unreal.
photo2 1 1
Life doesn’t last forever—human life, plant life, love-life, whatever.  Maybe everything is perfect now, but what will be a year from now?  A month from now?  Tomorrow?  We make plans and prepare for the future without knowing what plans the future has for us. 

Although we can never know anything for sure, the choices we make everyday can help shape what the future might bring.  The choice to tell someone how much their friendship means to you.  The choice to spend time with someone instead of aimlessly exploring the internet.  The choice, even, to take a three-minute shower. 
 
No one has forever, but our actions can last forever.  My friend’s spirit will live on for the rest of time, and the choices we make in regards to conserving our environment—whether wise or foolish—will continue to make an impression far after we are gone.  So make every second count and love.

This is for you.  <3

xoxo

How do you or others you know leave a lasting impression?  Leave a comment below, email me (at melanieshimano@jhu.edu), or give me a shout-out on twitter telling me how you are contributing to our future.
 
And don’t forget to send in your submissions to the Earth Lovers Three-Minute Shower Challenge Youtube Contest! Need some inspiration? Check out my video here.

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar
Melanie Shimano (Johns Hopkins University, '13) is a Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering major originally from Orange County, California. She is currently involved in research at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and also spends her time with various on-campus groups including her sorority (Phi Mu!), Jaywalk Dance Team, and AIChE/SBE (American Institute of Chemical Engineers/Society for Biological Engineers). When she's not busy with school, some of her favorite things to do are shopping, hanging out with friends, and eating sprinkles cupcakes. And she definitely looks forward to going to the beach when she visits back home during breaks since it rains in Balitmore almost every day (but she still loves Hopkins).