Staff Writer: Savannah Phillips
Spring break- something we all anticipate and look forward to after working hard the first half of the semester! It’s a week where time slows down and speeds up at the same time, ending so quickly. The individual moments that make the memories though, they take their time.
Life gets so incredibly busy that we often fail to realize just how amazing this life is. Think about this: what if we lived everyday like it’s spring break?
I know of someone who did- his name was Tommy Steen. I realize his name may not sound familiar, but Tommy’s life was tragically ended after being robbed on the street. In honor of him, his family and friends came together to form the Tommy Steen Memorial Scholarship, to aid a chosen student of Central High School, located in Pageland, South Carolina. Their hope was to keep Tommy’s memory alive and to help students afford college. During my senior year at Central, I’m honored to say that I was awarded this scholarship. I was moved by Tommy’s story and promised to always remember the role he played in my journey.
Because of the generosity of his family and friends, my dreams started to become reality. It breaks my heart to know that I got to this point, in part, because of Tommy’s passing. It makes me realize that tomorrow is not promised. I’m reminded of his motto: “live everyday like it’s spring break.” We must make every single day the best day of our lives, because we may not have tomorrow.
Tommy Steen was young and had such a bright future. The day he lost his life, I doubt he knew it would be his last. Though I never met him, I havel a very good feeling that he lived that day like it was his last- and it just so happened that it was. I bet that he had laughed a little too hard that day. Probably admired the world. Fell even more in love with his girlfriend. And maybe even went on an adventure.
So as spring break approaches next week, acknowledge how you feel every day. As the week winds down and the weight of school crashes back down into your reality, take a moment and remember. Find something good in every day because I promise you, there is more goodness in this world if we only take the time to look. Let happiness manifest itself throughout your whole body, and in the words of Tommy Steen, “live everyday like it’s spring break.”
-Savannah Phillips
Wingate Triangle 