“Your purpose in life” when do we find out what that is, or do we ever find out? We can imagine, we can set our own goals and we can make it happen if we choose. In the last couple of months my friends and I have lost some people very close to us. One, especially close friend, recently died in a car accident, life, as I knew it changed forever, from one day to the next.
As you grow up you learn that you make mistakes and spend your youth searching for who you are as a person and who you want to be as you continue growing. We are forced to think about it more intensely as we enter the vast terrain they call “high school”. There’s only one thing that can change all of that. Death…No one ever thinks that it will happen to him or her. The death of our friend changed going to school and daily life, as we knew it. Waking up each morning has caused me to be thankful that I made it through another day. The values I once had are now re prioritized or intensified. Family, friends, laughter, love and self … the five most important things in life. Our friend showed us that no matter when you leave this life, it’s possible to accomplish the world. And that he did. It is up to us to accomplish the same. The youth must accomplish the world.
When I think about what I want to do in the future, the answer has never been more clear and yet at the same time never seemed so foggy. My purpose in life is to love others, to make someone smile, to love and be loved and to always stay true to my family and friends. Most of all to stay true to myself. As the words exit my mouth, I hesitate the interpretation people may assume. In no way do I mean for that to sound as if I am trying to win a Ms. America pageant, it’s simply just stating (however corny it may be), that I have strong values of staying true with the people that I love and that love me. Now if you can put that into a job description let me know…your job is not who you are it’s just what you do. Although all of those things will be a huge part of my life, my job does not necessarily need to incorporate all of those things. Priorities are something that my friend also taught me before he left us. When I was a little girl all I wanted to do was be a big business woman and work as the head executive of a big corporation. I wanted it all. In the last couple of months all of that seems so inferior. My view of life is not to see how much I can gain, as I grow older but it’s to see how much I can do and help. I want to help people to my fullest extent. I want to make peoples lives better before they are no longer with us. I want to spend as much time with my family and friends, because, one day I to will no longer have that chance.
It is so easy to get caught up in life, and take the smallest things for granted. It takes something enormous to show you what is really important. And for me that’s everything. Everything in life is important to some extent. Although at the moment I cant understand the reason our friend was taken away from us, but one day it will become clear. I believe that everyone has a purpose in life. Whether your time on earth is very short or very long, you will have taught something to someone, you hope. My friend taught me more than I ever thought possible in such a short amount of time. And it is only now…weeks later that I am just beginning to realize. His purpose in life was not to grow old, but it was to live a short very full life with us. I have a thousand memories of the best times of my life…and they’re all with him and the rest of my friends. His purpose wasn’t to find the cure for AIDS or to solve world hunger; it was to teach us to appreciate our friends, family and to appreciate the time we have on earth.
When you are little you are taught to think BIG. You are taught to want to be a scientist or a doctor or a human rights activist. Your taught to want to solve world hunger, or to find the cure to a disease you’ve probably never heard of. As you get older you find out that you don’t have to be all of those things to be a great person. You can simply change the world by loving your family and friends and by doing something nice for your community. You can be a mother, a sister, a daughter, a son, a father, and a best friend and change the world. You have to help people and you have to love people. You have to wake up every morning ready for whatever life is going to throw at you. You have to take in every tragedy and every wonderful magnificent thing that life will give you. And appreciate it for what it is. I don’t want to do one huge amazing great thing; I want to do a thousand small amazing great things. I want to help specific people and make their lives have as much meaning as my life has had so far.
Life isn’t about how much you can gain; it’s about how much you can do. How much you can teach, be taught and live. I know now that no matter what I may become when I get older, no matter what kind of big business woman I might become or no matter how much money I make doing whatever. My purpose in life is to teach what I know, to someone else. My purpose in life is to help others who don’t have as much. My purpose in life is to smile, make others smile, love, laugh, cry and have a family of my own one day, my purpose is to take care of the family I have now, let the people I love most know that I will always love them. My friends and I think that our purpose, is to carry out what our friend taught us on through our lives, and teach what he believed and teach others to be as grateful for what life gives them as we now are. To wake up every morning and just think about everything you can. I may not know at this exact moment in time what I want to do when I get older, but I know exactly what my values and passions are. My young but wise words are that I will always keep in mind and will always relate to any life choice I have to make later, will always be the same. Live, love, and laugh…and to do what makes you happy. When choosing my career, I will always keep think about my friend K.T.S. and his “beautiful mind” for showing me a new light on life. And for showing me to always do what makes you happy…because you never know when it can all be taken away.