Short Stories

1. LOOKING BACK

I interviewed my grandmother for part of a research paper I was working on for my psychology class. When I asked her to define success in her own words, she said, "Success is when you look back at your life, and the memories make you smile".

2. LOVE CONQUERS PAIN

After I watched my dog get run over by a car, I sat on the side of the road, holding him and crying. But just before he died, he licked the tears off my face.

3. TOGETHERNESS

As my father, my three brothers, and two sisters stood around my mother's hospital bed, my mother uttered her last coherent words before she died. She simply said, "I feel so loved right now. We should have gotten together like this more often.”

4. AFFECTION

I kissed my dad on the forehead as he passed away in a small hospital bed. About 5 seconds after he passed, I realized it was the first time I had kissed him since I was a little boy.

5. JOY

When I witnessed a 27-year-old cancer patient laughing hysterically at her 2-year-old daughter's antics, I suddenly realized that I needed to stop complaining about my life and start celebrating it again.

6. KINDNESS

A boy in a wheelchair saw me desperately struggling on crutches with my broken leg and offered to carry my backpack and books for me. He helped me all the way across campus to my class, and as he was leaving, he said, "I hope you feel better soon.”

7. SHARING

I was travelling in Kenya, and I met a refugee from Zimbabwe. He said he hadn't eaten anything in over three days and looked extremely skinny and unhealthy. Then, my friend offered him the rest of his sandwich. The man first said, "We can share this.”

Life is short! Live every minute to the fullest and celebrate it every day.