Three weeks ago, I was taken to the DCH emergency room and was told I was having a heart attack. The nurse at my bedside told me I would be okay; people come in with heart attacks every day. “They just aren’t normally 20 years old,” she added.

I thought I was about to die. A subsequent heart catheterization revealed that I was not actually having a heart attack, but instead, I had contracted a rare heart infection called myocarditis.

I have since returned to good health. Besides taking blood pressure medicine twice a day, there are no other lingering affects of the illness.

But the experience has been insightful, and I wish I could share it with everyone.

Life really is a fragile thing – it can end in a split second of chest pains or in a car accident.

While I was laying on the bed in the emergency room, I can’t deny that I had doubts about my faith. What if I have been wrong; what if I have believed in something that isn’t true?

But my faith was all I had. I prayed for survival but also prayed for forgiveness and salvation. I felt ready for whatever was ahead, and I felt comfortable. In the end, I was tremendously blessed, and my faith has grown exponentially.

That blessing has led to the realization that issues that cause frequent stress – grades and schoolwork, politics, speeding tickets – may be important, but they are not most important. They don’t matter in the ER.

What does matter, though, is having faith, good friends and a supportive family.

Another thing that matters is going to an outstanding university.

We don’t talk about that enough. There was a story in The Washington Post this week about potential Republican presidential candidates harping on the theme of “American exceptionalism,” the idea that America, because of its role in history, its status as the world’s only superpower, and its quality of life, is truly exceptional.

We should start talking more about Alabama’s exceptionalism. Students and administrators alike all have things we wish the University would do – create more parking spaces, buy more buses, add 5,000 students to enrollment, beat Auburn. When we talk about these issues, sometimes we lose sight of how good we have it overall.

We are still the best university in the state, by far, and one of the leading universities in the region.

After I was taken to a room on the cardio wing of DCH, Dean Shane Sharpe of the Honors College waited with me until 1:30 in the morning on a Monday, when my parents arrived from Atmore. I did not have to worry about missing class for an entire week, and I am not going to lose any hours because of it (although my GPA may not be as high as I would like).

While I was in the hospital, I was visited by dozens of friends. My roommate got me to the emergency room faster than an ambulance would have, and he informed my parents of our situation.

Only then, in my moment of greatest need, did I begin to realize and appreciate the sense of community we have here at Alabama. It is something we should talk more about and try to expand upon.

Next Friday, I will check in with my cardiologist before going home to spend the holidays with my family, who has definitely taken great care of me in recent weeks. Christmas, which is always my favorite time of the year, will mean especially much to me now as I celebrate with my family our faith and thank God for blessing us with life.

Merry Christmas to all.

Tray Smith is the opinions editor of the Crimson White.