Carpe Diem

Before I die, I would like to:
1) Experience true love
2) Have children
3) Change someone else’s life significantly
4) Be there for my parents as they grow older
5) Experience stability


These things are important to me for various reasons. But, they are also very important to me because as a whole they would give my life value and meaning.
First of all, I would like to experience true love. In fact, I have dreamt of true love since I was a very small girl. “True love” exists in many children’s books and as many are growing up, they are told about how wonderful and exciting being in love is. I was no exception to these children and would stay up at night dreaming of the day that my prince charming would sweep me off my feet. Unfortunately, storybook type love generally does not exist and “true love” is often a superficial concept. For example, I believe that if you asked all of the young couples at Amity High School if they are in love, four out of five couples will say “yes”. It is somewhat troubling to me that the majority of couples at our school will claim to have “true love” because it is something that should be rare and special. At least, rare enough that by age sixteen, half of the population would not have already found it. Therefore, many of the teenagers that claim to be “in love” have love for another person but are not “in love”.
Before I die, I am looking for a kind of love that is different than the kind found in high school. I would like to be in a relationship that pushes me to be a better person and that keeps me on my feet. I have personally found that a high school relationship is almost the opposite of what I am looking for. Love in high school is difficult and demanding. It can tend to be so overwhelming that in most cases, it does not last. I would like to be in a relationship that does.
True love is valuable for humanity because many people grow up hearing about its wonders in storybooks (like I did). As children, we internalize many of the things that we hear about, especially repeated concepts (like love). In a way, we are programmed as children to want to experience love. Therefore, as we grow up, we have our eyes open for someone to fall in love with. Also, love makes us feel good and gives us a reason to wake up in the morning. It is important for humanity to fulfill its desires. The experience of true love is often one of those desires.
Before I die, I would also like to have children. By having children, I would be able to not only pass on my genes but also pass on my ideas through that child. Of course, one can not completely dictate what a child will believe, but chances are that a child will be influenced by his or her parents’ ideas. I would also like to have a child because I would like to experience motherhood and watching my child develop. It is remarkable to me how a child can grow to become a complex human being. I would like to be a part of that process.
It is important to humanity to have children for the same reasons that it is important to me to have children. The difference is that throughout history, the most important aspect of having children has been to continue a bloodline. For example, may royal families have struggled to continue their bloodlines in order to keep power. Also, many farming families have liked to have several children to help with the workload. But, in modern, suburban towns (like the town I live in), people have children because they would like watch their children grow and develop. They would also like to have another person to love and care for.
It is also important to me that I change another person’s life significantly before I die. This is because helping other people makes me feel good. It is also important to me because I believe in the golden rule, “treat others as you wish to be treated”. So far, many people have helped me get through tough times. I would like to give back to society by helping others through their tough situations. I believe that every person has a lot to offer to society and that it is critical to help those around us. If we ignore those around us and only act selfishly, it is impossible to ever reach our full potential as a society. For example, I am a link crew leader in a club at my school called Link Crew. In Link Crew, we help the freshmen in our high school become active, prepared students. On occasion, some of the link crew leaders teach lessons to the freshmen. Our most recent lesson included the importance of helping and receiving help from others. We gave a sheet of pundles (word images that depict certain phrases) to each of the freshmen. First we let them see how many of the pundles they could uncover by themselves. Next, we let them work in pairs and see how many more they were able to uncover together. The freshmen noticed that they were able to get a lot more pundles uncovered by working together than by working alone. The pundle activity showed the importance of working together and helping other people. This is important not only to myself but also to all of humanity. By helping each other, we are able to reach goals more easily. I would like to help another human being because I would like to aid them in reaching their goals that same way that others have helped me.
I would also like to be able to help my parents, as they grow older. This is because my parents have watched over me for all of my life. They have fed me, given me clothes and shelter, and have provided me with a very loving, nurturing environment to grow up in. Overall, I owe a lot to my parents and would like to show them my appreciation by helping them when they need me. As people get older, they often become a little disoriented and lonely. It is my intention to help my parents out whenever they may need me as they grow older. Perhaps they will need me to help them with new computer software or to help them take care of their animals while they are on vacation. Either way, I believe that it is my duty to make sure that my parents live a safe, comfortable life, as they grow older (just as they made sure that I had a safe, comfortable life as I grew up). My parents mean a lot to me and before I die, I would like to continually help them any way that I can.
Many other people in society feel that it is important to help their parents as they grow older. This is because of many of the reasons that I would like to take care of my parents. As one grows older, he feels the need to repay those that helped him when he was young (such as his parents). Also, in many different cultures, it is important to “respect your elders”. In order to respect those people that are older than you (such as your parents), you can watch over them as they become older and guide them if they need any help along the way.
Lastly, before I die, I would like to experience stability. This is because at this point in my life, I do not know where I am going to go to school next year, if I am going to get married, or where I am going to be living in five years. Overall, I do not have very much stability. On day, I would like to know exactly where I am in life and where I am going to be headed. In other terms, I would like to have a secure, job, home, and marriage. I believe that if I can attain security in my life, then I will be able to focus on other things that are important to me such as raising a child. Stability is also important to humanity. This is because it is human nature to want to know where your life is going and not to have to worry about basic wants and needs. Once one has the basic components of his life secure, he is able to continue his life doing the things that he wants to do.
There are many things that a person wants in a lifetime. But there are just a few that are essential. To me, these essentials are finding true love, having children, helping another person significantly, helping my parents as they get older, and finding stability.