“There are two Mustafa Kemals: One is me, the flesh-and-blood, mortal Mustafa Kemal … The second Mustafa Kemal,… I cannot express it with the word “me”, it is not “me”, it is “we”.”
-Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
As humans, being on of the few if only of God's creatures to know of our own mortality, we are overwhelmingly concerned with what we are meant to do. That, however, is for an article for another day. It is also a source of concern that we leave something behind. This is what we commonly know as legacy.
Legacy is officially defined as "an amount of money or property left to someone in a will." While the legal definition is all well and good, it is criminally materialistic. Legacy is much more than that. It is the passing down of ideas and memories. I was once told, "You exist as long as there is someone around to remember you." This, as well as Ataturk's quote, both exemplify the ideological aspect of what legacy is. On a larger level, such as national in the case of Caesar, Washington, and Ataturk, it is the society as a whole. All three men left behind something greater than what would be restricted to family and close friends for the rest of us. Caesar was deified and became the word for emperor; Washington - among others - left behind the United States; Ataturk - Turkish for "Father of the Turks" - left behind the Republic of Turkey and is so revered that at 9:05 every day all activity stops in remembrance of him and it is actually illegal to speak ill of him. Of course, most of us are not Caesar or Ataturk; we are instead regular John and Jane Does.
This is not to say that we are insignificant. On the other hand, we matter very much to those around us. For us, our legacy is the memories we leave our friends and family. Therefore, while our bodies may no longer be here, our essence is still living. Being Christian, I naturally believe in an afterlife; however, there is still part of us that remains on Earth. This to me is what legacy is.
I should perhaps note that at 20, writing about legacy presents the notion that I am undergoing some kind of existential crisis. This is not the case. However, as a prospective teacher and public servant - content for another article, I assure you - it is a common thought among those communities of what mark they are making. These are circles that have a cause bigger than the individual and affect masses of people.
In short, this article is meant to force you to think. What is legacy? What does legacy mean to you? What is your legacy?
