As I sit at my computer typing this up, I’m reaching over to blow my nose seemingly every two seconds. My throat is sore, my eyes are itchy, and the allergy relief pills don’t seem to be working. Anything seems better than to be suffering through this, and the only thought in my mind is how lucky everyone else is to be able to take a full breath without sneezing. Being able to finish a sentence without erupting into a cacophony of coughs is all that I am wishing for; I feel that I’ll never take being healthy for granted ever again.

While this brief inconvenience may make my day less enjoyable, I am still in a very good position in life. I am extremely lucky to have all the opportunities I have: I am able to go to a great school, participate in sports and extracurricular events that I enjoy, and go home knowing that I will have food on my plate. I take that for granted far too often.

I don’t have to work to support myself, and my parents have done much more for me than I could have ever asked for. It is important for me to recognize that I am living a very privileged life. People all across the world are starving and struggling to get by in life, and I am dealing with the simple inconvenience of allergies.

While it’s absolutely okay to be annoyed with stereotypical first world problems, I feel that people in the same position that I am in should be aware of how lucky they are. I am working towards not taking what I have for granted, as it’s very easy to get used to the easy life.

My runny nose and sore throat aren’t a very big deal in the grand scheme of things. I can suck it up and deal with it. I am very well off, and the realization of that is something that I will continue to work on. Allergies are simply a bother, and I’ll get over them.