I hate to break it to you, but life is not like a video game. You are not like Mario, who can die a million ways and still have a life remaining. In life, we are each given one shot. Not a single one of us knows how long that shot is going to last. For some people, it might only last a few years, while others might make it to 100.
Sorry for starting off this article on such a morbid note, but I'm just telling you the truth. We all get one life to make a difference, go after our dreams, and help others.
For one of my journalism classes, I recently had to write my own obituary. At 20 years of age, writing about my own death seems quiet depressing. I feel that I have a ton of life left in me, yet I have to think about when I take my final breath.
At first, I was really disturbed by this assignment, but then it hit me that I was looking at this whole thing from the wrong perspective. I had put my entire focus on the death part and had completely left out the life part. Life is like a hamburger. The two pieces of bread that enclose it are birth and death. The meat in the middle is the actual life you live. A hamburger without meat is like trying to watch a show without a plot. You can watch it all you want, but without a plot, it's pointless.
In this beautiful thing called life, you do not really have any say in when you are born and when you die. You do, though, get to choose how you live. When I started writing this obituary, I was given the opportunity to decide what kind of person I wanted to be in life. I literally stared at my laptop for a whole hour trying to decide how I want people to remember me. In the end, I came to the conclusion that I want to be someone who people will say inspired others to chase their dreams no matter what obstacles life throws at them.
My life hasn't been easy. I've dealt with a lot of stuff. From bullying to depression to suicidal thoughts to anxiety, I've fought battles to stay alive. There were times when I wanted to breathe that final breath, but then I would remember my dream. I let it drive me back to reality. When I look at all the amazing things that have happened in my life since those hard times, I can't help but thank God for not letting me throw in the towel. He knew that I had a purpose and I hadn't completely fulfilled it yet. I believe that I am already becoming the person I want people to remember me as.
I hope that by reading this your brain has been triggered to think about who you are. It is important that we stop and ask ourselves how we want people to remember us when we're gone. Never forget that you only get one life to live, so make it count.
Go enjoy all of your days, and take advantage of every opportunity you get to inspire others.
