Dear World,

I am going to get real right fast okay? In one of my upper devision classes for journalism I was assigned to write my own obituary.

Yes, I know what you are thinking. That it is morbid, and sad, they are curious about what it has to do with my degree. Well, that is where people misunderstand the importance of people who study communications. We are the ones who write them when it comes time because we all spread out around the world in various careers, we may or may not need to write one some day. One of the many things we may or may not need to know.

Likewise, back to what I learned.

I will be honest. I sat there and I stared at my screen because at first I was uncomfortable. I had no idea where to start, how I thought of my life might go. I just had no idea at all.

I wanted to be married but I felt that would be weird to write about.

I wanted to be successful but within means.

I wanted to have experienced life.

Of all things I wanted and expected to see of myself. Of everything out of life that I wanted more than absolutly anything was that:

I wanted to be remembered.

I wanted to be someone that people were proud of, I did not want to be exceptional, I just wanted to be remembered.

For me writing the obituary was a real awakening for me, for me to see into the glass ball that life could have in store for me.

But even if that were the first or the last of mine to write about myself, I could change the outcome. I could essentially create a different outcome for every aspect of my life, for every different path that could be taken.

It is amazing to see that perspective about the many different paths that you could take in life. I could have never become an author and I could have lived to 102 with a full life of just family.

For me this turned out to be so much more than just an assignment and to be quite frank I think it should be something that everyone does at some point or another because when you finally do it, you get to see the many different ways you might be able to life. Whether that be something other worldly or completely basic. The typical outline.

Follow it or not. Write your obituary and see what life you might want to live.

Sincerely,

I Am Still Very Alive