My life as I wish I will live it

When I reach the end of my time here on earth there are many things that I would have liked to experience, such as sky diving, traveling to a far away country, or even meeting a celebrity. Yet the number one thing on my list that I would want to have before I die, always, would be a family. Be it a husband and kids, or just my own sister and brother, in the end all I want and need is a family. No matter how dysfunctional my family can be at times, when worse comes to worse they are the crutch that is always there, ready to let me lean on.  I feel like this is one of the most basic needs of humanity, right next to food, water and shelter. Being the social animals that we are we, we need other humans in our lives.  Families are the only people who feel genuinely for you, they are the only people who really care for you. Without that love in life, I don’t think humanity would last very long.

                Following family on my list of things I want to posses or experience when or before I reach the end of my life would be a job that I thoroughly enjoy doing. What that job might be, I’m not entirely sure yet.  If I’m unhappy going to work everyday, then that will be projected on others, and other situations. I want a job that not only provides a stable income, but one that I can look forward to waking up for every morning. A job like this is one that most people would dream of having. Some lucky individuals do posses this dream job, and this is valuable to humanity because these individuals are happy and are much more likely to complete their job well. Seeing as our governmental structure depends upon everyone working cohesively, when a person gets a job done well, then everybody benefits.

To travel the world would be also make my list. I would love to see and experience the many different cultures of the world, most specifically the Italian culture. Seeing as Italy is the birthplace of both of my grandparents, and the main nationality that I am, learning my history would be extremely beneficial to me. To see and experience other cultures would benefit humanity in many ways. Tolerance of different types of people and their cultures would become more prominent. The more educated people are about others, the less conflicts there would be.

Traveling provides tremendous opportunities for fun, adventure and discovery. When we visit places in other countries, we gain a better understanding of the people living there. We learn their cultures, history and background. We discover the similarities they have with us, as well as their differences from us. It is interesting to learn from people with diverse backgrounds. Not only do we increase our knowledge of the people, we also broaden our knowledge of the diverse animals and plants.

                I would absolutely love to experience the exhilaration and excitement of jumping out of an airplane, and freefalling down towards the earth.  Personally, I love anything that provides a thrill and adrenaline rush, and sky diving would be the ultimate thrill. Not only that, it would let me experience the beauty and the sense of freedom that sky diving would provide. Thoughts of floating through the clouds, and seeing over the horizon, and feeling free and unfettered, sounds intoxicating to me. How this would benefit humanity I’m not quite sure.  Some people most likely feel the same as I do about free falling. Passionately wanting a chance to participate in this thrilling experience. Others, no doubt are terrified of even the mention of it. As the saying goes, to each his own.

                Last on my list, but most certainly not least, I want to be happy. I want to be loved, healthy and happy.  It is as simple as that.  There is no doubt in my mind that every person on this planet aspires to obtain this simple idea, that of true happiness. I do not know if this can ever be truly acquired, seeing as soon as you seem to be happy, or as happy as one can get, something that would disrupt that elation occurs. It is dissolved and seems to take forever to be built up again, seemingly only to be brought down once more. True happiness would benefit humanity in every way possible.  Through jobs, relationships, and anything else that one could think of, if a person was happy, then life would be a much better place.

                No doubt there are many more things I would like to experience in the limited time that I have on this earth, but these five I would consider to be of the most importance. To have a family, to be happy, to have an enjoyable job, to travel the world and lastly to sky dive, I could only dream of attaining all of these.

Utnapishtim Replies

      This quote simply put, merely is meant to convey that our lives are not permanent, and everyone eventually will die one day. Be it soon, or 30 years from now, each person will meet there demise. We, as a species, only last around 100 years, maybe more if one is lucky; and as far we know there is no such thing as immortality though we strive to achieve this unachievable essence every day of our lives through various acts. We literally face death everyday and it is a wonder that some survive all the way through to adulthood.

        Surprisingly enough this little fact does not stop us in our pursuit to live. Every day people get up, go to work or school and participate in the greater good of bettering out society, with the notion that things will be better in the future. Or will they? Will some even live to see tomorrow? These questions can only be answered with time. The fact is we are afraid of death, afraid of the unknown. We therefore do what we have to do to survive even with the knowledge that death could occur at any moment. Known as the nature of man, humans have lived by this ideal since the beginning of our species.

        After Enkidu's death, Gilgamesh is slapped in the face with one big wake up call: that he, too, can and will die. Of course, being the two parts god that he is, he refuses to accept this and goes on his quest for immortality. Surprise, surprise Gilgamesh finds that immortality is unattainable. Nonetheless a lesson is learned, that of the age old saying: live your life to the fullest.

                The meaning of life is not something that can be simply put. It is a matter of perspective for each individual. For some poor souls, there is no meaning in life, and the will to live, like a fire burning inside ones heart, is snuffed. For others it is as hot as the sun. The meaning in life for one could be seen in a spouse or a friend, or perhaps the meaning in life is, plainly, to just live.

        Despite all the facts that clearly point to death as being the sole way out of this world, we continue to promote ideals that state otherwise. Religion is one of these. Most religions, if not all, believe in some sort of after life. Some variety of exception to death as being the end. Fame and success are another example of promoting eternal life. The name lives on in society, while the body dies. Take William Shakespeare for example. He has been gone from this world for quite some decades, and yet people still recognize him, and promote his literary works of genius, as if he were alive.

        Yes, it is true that we being on this earth is not permanent, nonetheless immortality cannot be considered illusory. Humans may not have figured out a true way to live forever and retain youth, but we have produced a way to cope with the impending death.