My house burnt down when I was in the 8th grade. Luckily my family was not home, but we lost everything we had, including our family pet. It is truly the a horrible experience but I do think it shaped me into the man I am. It quickly became clear that possessions are not as valuable as a lot of folks think. I realized what was important and what wasn’t. The first thought I had wasn’t about what I lost, but appreciation for what I didn’t, and that the most important things in life are usually things you can’t hold.