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Living Life to the Fullest
I
believe how a person lives the dash of time
between their birth date and
death on
their tombstone, determines their quality of life.
This dash is very
little, and is many
times overlooked on a tombstone, yet this little
line is
worth so much.
I
was born on April 2, 1987. I do not know what date
I will die, but I believe
that everyone
should enjoy life to the fullest. To live my life
to the fullest, I
keep in close contact
with the people I care about and realize that
material
possessions will not matter at
the end of my life.
Just a few days
ago, in the small hours of the morning, a tornado
ripped
through my hometown. I woke up
to what sounded like a freight train
coming through my house. Fortunately,
all my family came out alive and our
house suffered only minor damage. My
nearest friends were not as blessed.
Less than 100 yards from my house,
houses were turned into splinters.
Personal belongings were strewn about
and became unrecognizable. This
tornado
opened my eyes and served as a reminder that life
can change in a
heartbeat.
I believe that it is prudent to
recognize the important things in your life.
Family has always been a huge component
in my life. Since I was a young
girl,
my mother’s side of the family has gotten
toget
her every Friday night
for dessert. We gather at one of the
sibling’s houses around eight o’clock
and hang around while we munch on
dessert and talk about our past week.
Friday nights allow me to stop focusing
on myself and my troubles. I can
relax
with my aunts, uncles, or play games with my
younger cousins,
knowing that I can
count always count on my family for support
anytime.
I believe material possessions
are not important. As demonstrated in our
community tornado, material possessions
can be destroyed in an instant. It
does
not matter how much we own: the cars, the house,
the cash, what
matters is how we live
and love and how we spend the time of our dash. If
we could just slow down long enough to
consider what’s true and real and to
understand the way other people feel.
If only we could be less quick to anger
and show more appreciation. If we could
love people like we have never
loved
before. If we treat each other with respect and
wear a smile more than
a frown. If we
could recognize the small things in life, how
would our lives
change?