Kim

I was at Tiananmen Square during the protests of 1989.

I put legs on a man with prosthetics.

I said goodbye to my father the day he ended his life.

I jumped out of an airplane.

I almost froze when hiking Mt. Fuji off-season and had to sleep in a temple.

Kim, age 46

Helen

I wrote an essay for a national "I speak for Democracy" contest in HS and won first place.

I worked in the missions for a year after nursing school.

I married happily and had 5 beautiful children by age 30.

I wrote a heartfelt poem to my son when he was almost 17.

I took care of my dear mother the last week of her life.

Helen, age 71

Nate

Went to a public high school prom with my boyfriend.

Prevented a friend hundreds of miles away from committing suicide.

Made a bench out of a shipping pallet.

Wrote my name on bathroom walls in 7th grade. Got caught.

Somehow made money off of photography.

Nate. age 17

Lauryn

I got engaged in Trafalgar Square in London.

I slept under a mosquito net in a mud hut in Congo.

I washed my grandmothers feet after she died.

I took acid.

I put rocks in my father's hubcaps so he couldn't leave us (he left anyway.)

Lauryn, age 25

Amira

I saved a life.

I circumnavigated the earth on a ship.

I witnessed a stranger die at my feet.

I survived violent crime in South Africa.

I found strength in my weakness.

Amira, age 22

Stanley

I was an Eagle Scout.

I got shot stealing coal for my girlfriend and her family during the war.

I fell in love with a girl named Honey.

I was a Marine in WWII (Pearl Harbor, Guam, China.)

I lost my memory.

Stanley, age 87

Ken

Volunteered for a month in an orphanage in Romania.

Had my own dessert and pastry business.

Had brain surgery due to ruptured aneurysm.

Published a book in 2009.

Wore a kilt to scatter my Dad's ashes in Scotland.

-Ken, age 61

Bethany

I was born on a holiday.

I was hit by a car.

I have eaten an entire cake.

I have driven across the country twice.

I haven't done nearly enough.

-Bethany, age 27

Renee

I have recently discovered that I suffer from PTSD.

I reconnected with my father when I was 16 years old.

I held my stillborn daughter after she grew in my womb for 6 months.

I've received awards for my photography.

I was a victim of domestic violence, took it to court and won the battle.

- Renee age 33

Brad

I traveled around the US by train.

I skipped a day of high school to go skydiving.

I climbed 4 different "14ers" in Colorado.

I became best friends with a kitten.

I made a sandwich for my wife.

-Brad age 35

Dana

I got a little tattoo at 14 and did not tell my mother until I was 18.

I had both my knees replaced this year because I hated the limitations of pain.

I traveled to Nepal by myself to photograph Buddhist nuns.

I had a lover and a friend commit suicide and never forgave either of them for leaving me.

I jumped out of a plane to conquer my fear of falling.

- Dana age 43

Dani

I have been institutionalized several times for mental illness.
I gave birth to an Earth Angel.
I lost a baby.
I cannot accept love.
I have done many random acts of kindness.

Dani, age 36