Life as we know it can change in an instant, and the experiences of illness and death give us a new perspective on life. When I was in my mid-thirties, a close friend who was the same age as me became very ill and then died from a stroke. Several years later, two women in my friends group were diagnosed with breast cancer when we were all in our early forties. That was 2011, and I made it a priority that year to start living my life like every day matters, because it does. Th

Life is what you make it. You can let the hard times keep you down, or you can pick yourself up and put your light into the world. I'm not saying it's always easy, but at the end of the day I can honestly say that on most days the good outweighs the bad, and for that I am truly grateful.

At the end of the year, I like to document the moments I am grateful for that occurred over the past year. I find it to be a great way to...