When I was lying in bed the other day I noticed how the last time I had looked at the time on my phone it was 11:59 p.m. Nothing had changed except for seven minutes when I looked at my clock and it said 12:06 a.m. However, I thought of something rather morbid;
I could die today.
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Yes, everyone always uses expressions like "Tomorrow isn't promised," and more quotes about how we shouldn't take life for granted. But, this one thought made me change my perception on life.
Lately, one of my best friends has been going through a really hard time. Honestly, it hurts so bad knowing that I cannot take away her pain. We laugh a lot, and I do silly things to make her smile; but, deep down I knew she wasn't OK.
While school, relationships, and finances are all important — often times we forget the purpose of life.
"What if tomorrow, I got the news that I had MS?" I asked her, and she looked slightly confused. "What if I got into a really bad accident to the point that my hand would have to be amputated? I wouldn't be able to be a surgeon."
Yes, I would be able to overcome challenges, and just because life throws obstacles in your way it does not mean that you cannot still have a fulfilling life. But, the sad thing is we put our hopes and dreams into empty promises.
I could be the smartest student in the world. I could be the hardest worker, study more than anyone, but because of the uncertainties of life, I may not accomplish my goals that I put years of effort into.
I could die in the middle of typing this article and it would never be published.
So, why should we choose to live like this?
Day in and day out: stressed. Fearful of a failing midterm grade. Scared of not making the right choices. Stricken with anxiety and mental breakdowns of things that substantially won't mean much of anything five years from now.
One day my calculus professor passed back a midterm that most people did miserably on. He continued by teaching another lecture. Though, when he turned around to see our faces, he must have noticed the disappointed look in our eyes for he said something no professor has ever told me before: "This will not matter in 30 years. The amount of points you missed on this test — you will not remember. It's over now, we just have to move on."
And it's really that simple. We move on. We cannot be so fixated on one mistake or one bad grade or one thing that we failed in life. Life is about failures; but more so, it's about how we overcome them.
Spend time with people that you aspire to be like. Surround yourself with those that make you a better you.
If your legs hurt from being on them all day, be grateful because you can walk.
If your thoughts consume your life, be happy because you exist.
If you're exhausted from lack of sleep, be thankful you woke up today.
The purpose in life isn't to get the most likes on your Instagram picture, nor is it to receive the highest grade out of your classmates.
Because at the end of it all, it truly won't matter who won.
The trophies we collected will be thrown in a box only to be discarded by future relatives. Our names will one day be forgotten when we cease to exist; even famous actors of our time will not be remembered one hundred years from now. Life is so dynamic in the sense that it is always changing, and so are you.
So never stop striving to be a better you today than you were yesterday; Learn to love yourself and do things for you. Go to a painting class. Sing karaoke(badly if necessary.) Try yoga. Make a bucket list. Cross items off of it. It's easy to live for the weekend- but don't. Live for Tuesday's. Make every day a day you appreciate your existence. I don't care if you're 14 or 40. Be the cliche version of you that you've always wanted to be.
When someone asks where you see yourself ten years from now, I hope you think "Happy," because, in the end, nothing else matters.
