What is the purpose of life? Recently I have noticed the constant societal pressure placed on everyone to make a difference, to change the world. Be the next Gandhi. Be the next Martin Luther King Jr. They both impacted millions of people. Their stories are told in history books. We know them, we learn to respect them, we are inspired by them. Hearing about these people who have led productive, selfless lives inspires people but also can lead one to perceive their life as unimportant and pointless.
My friends and I have minds that never turn off. We can spend hours contemplating and discussing countless philosophical questions about all of life's mysteries. It's exhausting. There are times when my head physically hurts because of overuse. After spending hours thinking, arguing about the "true meaning" of life, I've come to a conclusion: there is no clear point to life. There is not a universal life goal for the 7.8 billion people on this earth.
For some people, religion provides a purpose, a direction to follow. Most Christians believe their purpose is to serve God, to lead a life following His example. For others, the philanthropy type, their life's purpose is to help people, to make a difference in this world while they can. I would say my life goal is less significant and far-reaching. I want to live my life, not with the expectation to change the world, but with the hopes of positively impacting the small number of people I meet in my lifetime.
Today, I watched a movie called Freedom Writers. I thought it was a great movie and would confidently recommend it to anyone. It was about a young teacher that dramatically changes the lives of the students she taught, a group of about thirty kids. It inspired me.
From this day forward, I plan to live my life without placing pressure on myself to get my name put into a history book for changing the world like Gandhi or Martin Luther King Jr. If I can positively impact one person in my life I'll be satisfied.
The purpose of life is to live it. Life is incredibly short, so live it the way you want to, not how society and those around you expect you to.
