When I was thirteen years old,
I distinctly remember
wishing that I had a time machine
so that I could travel through time -
and, within the blink of an eye,
it seems as if thirty years have gone by,
and here I am looking back
and wondering how everything
could have changed so much...
when I compare my life as a boy
to my life now as a man -
although some things have not changed -
when I look around and I remember
who is missing and who it was
who made me who I am,
I cannot help myself wishing
that I could go back
and get one more minute
with the people
who will always matter to me
and those who I will always love.

Christmases and birthdays
over time merge into one...
when we are younger
we feel as if we have
all the time in the world
to do anything and to go anywhere
we can imagine...
as we get older most people
do not want to be reminded
of how old they are,
because every day seems
to pass faster than the beats of a drum...
as the person who we see in the mirror
changes before our eyes
each of us look at ourselves
and wonder where all that time
went in between us
asking questions to our parents and us having to face
the scars of life that can be seen
upon our reflection.

Every year, I have always had
something to remind me
of how lucky I am to have the family
and the friends that I have had in my life,
and so many people whom I have met
have inspired me in more ways
than I could ever put into words -
but because of what I have seen,
and because of what I have been through
personally over the last few years,
I would be lying if I said that
I had not begun to wonder
whether my time was almost up
and whether my purpose in life
had perhaps already been fulfilled.

Sometimes I look back
and I see a younger version of myself
looking back at me -
someone who had yet to suffer
all the heartbreak and the loss that I have -
and I want to tell them the truth:
that things only get harder
as you get older;
however, if and when I try
to send a message back through time
to who I was in the past,
I always just tell myself that
things will be OK
but that there will be days
when things will change
beyond our control -
so make sure to be brave
and to never forget that
everything happens for a reason,
and one day you will realize
that you are someone
who was always going to be
who you were supposed to be:
someone who will always do
what must be done,
no matter what -
because, just like your father,
you are a warrior.