"You don't have it as bad as you think you do"

"You don't have it as bad as you think you do."

That is what my sister-in-law told me the other when I called her in distress over the situation you guys have seen me blog about lately. She told me about a woman who lives in total misery and it seems like she cannot get out of it even if she tried. On Tuesday word broke out that there was a devastating earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti during the late afternoon. When I heard this I imagined of how much people would be affected because it was rush hour and many people would be still be at work, on the way home, home, or in school. My family turned on CNN and we just kept hearing the reports of how it was a powerful earthquake, and how Port-au-Prince, which is the capital of Haiti was gone. Then we saw the pictures and it was mind blowing. Even the president of Haiti is homeless. I am no way Haitian, I am of Guyanese and Puerto Rican descent and I was born in NY, but I feel a close connection because my childhood friends are Haitian and my school has a strong Haitian community. I knew that I have known a lot of people who are of Haitian decent or are Haitian, but didn't realize how much I actually knew until this tragedy. I found myself asking so much people if they heard from family and if everyone is alright. On facebook I see the anguish in people's statuses as they haven't heard from their families as yet. A girl I went to high school, she is a high school senior now, should be enjoying her senior year, but she is too busy crying because her family hasn't heard anything from the family back in Haiti. As I am home enjoying this last few days before I start back classes I think twice about complaining about what I do not have in my life. I have so much and I must not dare complain. In Port-au-Prince so many people have lost their families, their homes, their way of life. So many Americans have lost loved ones who still lived their, or they loved ones just went to volunteer, because as we all know Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. I look at the little babies in the orphanages in Haiti and I feel like adopting one, but of course I am broke college student with no job. This tragedy has made me think that a lot of the things I get anxious about and cause myself stress I clearly shouldn't. I shouldn't care what other people do sometimes. I shouldn't spend my life stressing over unnecessary things because who knows I am here today and gone tomorrow. Going back to the woman who I mentioned in the beginning of the blog. The woman reminded me of myself. She always wanted someone to love. She found him and seemed to cling onto him although he was no good for her. He mistreated her, and still does up to this day, and its like she is blind to even see it. I believe now she realizes, but now she is so trapped that she can't even begin to dig herself out. When things go wrong and you begin to panic and cry just remember that one phrase. You then begin to realize that you don't have it as bad as others and you should be grateful for what you have.