HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! Yup, today's my birthday. I FEEL OLD!

So in honor of my birthday today, I wanted to share with you guys the miracle that is life. Life's short, don't waste a moment. You never know when something could happen. So CARPE DIEM! No, not YOLO. I'm pretty sure that's just Carpe Diem for those of the world that are obsessed with being trendy. But YOLO will always be Carpe Diem to me. (For those of you who don't know Latin- I means seize the day. The original YOLO!)

I actually find it kinda sad that more people will know YOLO than Carpe Diem.

Anyway, enough with my rant about the problems with teens today. (Never mind that I am one- Sweet 16!) On with the story.

PS- This story will NOT include Emily. Just bromance between the guys, especially Kendall and Carlos.

"YOU GUYS READY FOR THIS?" Carlos popped up in front of James, Logan, and I, wearing his bathing suit and a helmet.

I looked up at him skeptically. "Ready for what?"

Carlos pointed at his skateboard, which was parked at the sliding doors to the hotel. Upon inspection, I noticed it had rockets attached to the back.

"I'm gonna turn on the rockets, go up that ramp and land in the pool! It's going to be awesome!"

I looked at Logan for a minute. "This isn't going to work is it?" I asked him.

Logan thought for a moment. "It might," he admitted.

"AWESOME!" Carlos did a little happy dance.

"BUT," Logan continued.

"Aww, what?"

"The chances of something going wrong are also high."

Carlos pouted for a minute, then said. "But I'm wearing my helmet!"

He ran off, despite our attempts to stop him. 5 seconds later, he went zooming past us, riding up and off the ramp and somersaulting in the air before landing way too close to the edge of the pool.

The three of us jumped up and ran to the edge. The water around where Carlos landed was stained red, and I saw something black floating in the middle of the red. I picked it up and saw that it was Carlos's helmet, cracked and broken.

James quickly dived into the pool as Logan and I watched on in worry. He quickly resurfaced, pulling an unconscious Carlos with him. I pulled Carlos out of the pool, James jumping out a second later. Logan called 911 as I tried to wake Carlos up, worry clouding my judgment.

"Come on Carlos, wake up." I checked his pulse and was relieved to find that there was one. His chest was shaking with ragged breaths, but blood was flowing from his head at an alarming rate.

I heard sirens from the distance. EMT flooded the area, and Carlos was lifted onto a stretcher.

I called my mother. "Meet us at the hospital, Carlos got hurt."

I turned to my friends. "Come on," I told them. "Let's get to the hospital."

I sat next to Carlos's bed, waiting for him to open his eyes.

Finally, they fluttered open.

"YOLO," Carlos whispered as he opened his eyes.

"What?" I said.

"YOLO. You only live once."

I shook my head. "Carlos, you don't get it. You only live once. Because of the stunt you pulled today, that life could've been over."

Carlos looked at me sadly. "I was just trying to have fun."

I smiled at him sadly. "There's a word for that. It's called Carpe Diem. It's Latin for seize the day."

"That's what I was doing."

"There's a difference between living each day to the fullest and being just plain reckless. Do you realize that if you weren't wearing a helmet, or if James hadn't pulled you out when he did, you would've been dead right now."

"Then what is that supposed to mean?"

"I think it means that you should do things that scare you, but not things that'll kill you. Try a new sport, try something new. But don't be reckless. If Logan tells you the chances of you getting hurt are higher than the chances of succeeding, don't do it. WE don't want to lose you Carlos."

He nodded up at me. "I get it."

"Good."

I smiled at my friend.

"Hey Kendall?"

"Yeah buddy?"

"When am I getting out of this place, can I try that stunt again?