I Believe in Carpe Diem

Carpe Diem. It could be known as a cliché or an actual philosophy to live by. I choose the latter. “Seize the day” means to live every day as if you had suddenly run out of them. If you were to go right now, would you be happy with your final day? To me, carpe diem is a philosophy that is underused. Though it is said often, not many people sincerely follow through. I believe in carpe diem, for we never know when the end is coming.
I remember when I first started believing in this philosophy. Usually people form large beliefs when a cataclysmic event takes place. Mine was nothing short of that. The bubble on my arm had come back positive. It was slightly painful, popping out of my arm like a gumball, except itchy and red accompanied by a burning sensation. I had no clue as to what it meant, but I knew it couldn’t be good. “Maybe you’re allergic,” I thought to myself.
The doctor confirmed I had tested positive for having a tuberculosis infection, leaving my mother in the corner, crying. “No one really dies of it anymore,” I thought, knowing all I had to do was take medicine. I had known very little about the condition, but the doctor made it sound so technical. My mom’s eyes were as puffy as the bubble on my arm and just as red after she had finished crying. For some reason, it didn’t hit me as hard as it did her.
When I left the TB unit, I had my new medicine in tow. It would take 9 months to eradicate the infection, but it was better than letting it progress. I didn’t know that in 24 hours, my life would take a frightening spin.
I took my medicine an hour before getting into my costume for the school play. I was nervous to get on stage, but time waits for no one and soon I was delivering my lines. It seemed as if the stage lights were getting more intense as I tried to continue talking. Soon, I was no longer in my own body. I was shaking so hard and my head was hitting the wooden floor of the set.   The audience reacted as soon as it happened, but at the...