The Odds Aren't Good

The world population is about 7.3 billion. With 7.3 billion people going through the average day, it can feel like the odds are against us. They are.

Waking up is hard. I groggily open my eyes as my alarm clock goes off. My room is always cold in the morning, and I don't want to get out of my covers. Unfortunately, I hear my twin, Morgan, getting ready in the bathroom, and I know it is time to get up.

The odds of having twins are one in 34.

I tread into the bathroom with my feet stumbling over my excessively baggy pajama pants. I run cold water and toothpaste over my toothbrush and stick it into my mouth, feeling the push and pull of the bristles.

The odds of getting gum disease are one in two.

I finish brushing my teeth and move back to my room to change. After looking through my drawers for a while, I decide to pull on my average jeans and a gray T-shirt, and then put on a flannel instead of a hoodie at the last minute, and stopping to stare into the mirror.

The odds of a girl having self-image issues are one in 20.

I open my shades and see it raining outside. The sky is swollen and bloated, full of clouds - dark, black and purple. Thunder rumbles, reverberating inside my skull.

The odds of being struck by lightning in your lifetime are one in 3,000.

I rush outside, stopping only to grab an egg sandwich for breakfast. I climb into the dented, silver Mazda while I wait for my sister.

The odds of getting into a car crash are one in four. The odds of dying in a car crash are one in 140.

When I get to school most of my classmates are soaked to the bone, huddled beneath the overhang, actually wanting school to start.

The odds of a child getting hypothermia are one in 66,000.

All of these horrible, awful things, and I'm not even in first period yet.

The odds of dropping out of school are one in 35.

Life may be a gamble, but I'll take those odds.

With a Perspective, I'm Alix Salzer.

Aliz Salzer attends Kent Middle School in Kentfield.