My 25th year of life has brought so much clarity, beauty and yet even more realization of just how fortunate we are to be presently alive in such a fragile and brief existence. I approach my 26th year with a deeper understanding of the gifts that are the wonderful humans around me. In each of our so-called struggles, we forget the innumerable blessings of being alive, breathing and living in a world with food, shelter and safety at our doorstep. With faucets, fridges, showers, hot tubs, car washes, pools and expensive bottled water, we often take for granted that a most essential component of life is not as easily accessed by others.

On this same planet, humans who smile, love, laugh and cry just like us agonize in their existence simply because of where they were born. 5,000 children die each day from water-related illnesses before they reach their 5th birthday and nearly 1 billion people on the planet don't have access to clean drinking water. I hope that by pausing briefly from our busy self-oriented lives, we can make a few people's lives last just a little longer, be a little stronger and give hope to our fellow man.

100% of the money raised for my birthday will directly fund water projects around the world, and when complete, Charity Water will send photos and GPS coordinates so we can see the impact we made in real life. There is no gift I could ask for that God hasn't given me and I can't think of a bigger blessing in my heart than giving the gift of life to others who have nothing and no one to remember them in their struggle.

Please help me make this a very blessed 26th birthday.