There was a huge mudslide in Washington last Saturday,March 22.  As of right now, the death toll stands at 16, and the number of missing people is 90.

Hearing about this disaster made me think about how lucky I am for what I have.

I have a roof over my head, a mother to take care of me, a brother to annoy me all of the time, (I love him anyways) and an abundance of food to eat.

All I could think about when reading about the mudslide was how much every person lost.

These people were robbed of personal belongings, homes, pets, loved ones and even things like hope and happiness.

It’s extremely cliche, but I really believe that we don’t know what we have ’til it’s gone. We should never take anything for granted because we don’t know when things like a mudslide or a tsunami or an earthquake will happen.

I complain about a lot of things. Like how I have to pick up my little brother from his friend’s house every day and how my mother yells at me to clean my room all. the. time. But then I think to myself, “What if I didn’t have my mom? What if I didn’t have my brother? What if everything I loved was taken away from me?”

That’s what the people in Washington are coping with. And I want to say that all of my prayers go out to the people victimized by the mudslide. I have no idea how hard it must be to lose so much. Their best friends, mothers, fathers, siblings, possessions and so much more were taken from them.

The collection of baseball cards you’ve been working on for years, gone. The house you’ve grown up in, washed away. Your parents who’ve taken care of you since day one, vanished.

I need to learn to not take everything for granted because I don’t know what will happen in the future. I need to enjoy what I have and be thankful for what I have including my friends, family, pets, home, vehicle and so on.