Think back six years.
Many of us were in high school, some in middle school. Those of us who were old enough to drive were coping with growing anxiety because gas was approaching $1.75 per gallon. And we lived in a nation that was bracing itself for a war more than 6,000 miles away.
Whether you support the war the U.S. has waged for more than five years or you've spoken out against every move made overseas or you're caught somewhere in the middle, you've been immersed in a world in which the war in Iraq has affected your life. You just might not realize it.
Since the war began March 2003, more than 4,000 Americans - many of whom were our age - have died, thousands more injured. As this number climbs, it is easy for our interest to decline.
But the work of a few could ignite the interests of many.
Omer Salih Mahdi gave his fellow Ball State University students a peek into the life he left behind in Iraq. He showed clips of his documentary, "Baghdad Hospital: Inside the Red Zone," which focuses on the conflict between Sunnis and Shiites and what is happening behind hospital doors in the embattled city.
Watching a film such as this, it is easy to dismiss the horrors in the war-torn nation as nothing new. For five years, we've heard or read about suicide bombings, roadside bombs and the climbing death toll.
Many tend to dismiss the media coverage as another day of violence in Iraq. Unless you actively seek information about the war, it's probably not a top concern of yours, especially after half a decade of being bombarded with war stories.
But there are many around us besides Salih Mahdi who have connections to Iraq.
For those here who have a relative or a friend fighting for our county, living with the terrors of not knowing where loved ones are or whether they're safe is a day-to-day reality.
Even if you don't know anyone overseas, this still continues to change your life.
We have the chance to pick our next president, and one of the top five issues for the election is Iraq. Our candidates' stances on the war are going to be a major deciding factor for who will lead our nation for the next four years.
And remember that anxiety we felt about paying $1.75 for a gallon of gas when the war started? Think about what it costs now to fill up.
We sit around and complain about gas prices and the economy, or we argue about whether the war is justified. This has become a part of our daily lives, but it's become easy to forget how our lives have changed in the past five years because of Iraq.
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