I am Alive

1005 Words3 Pages

What, still alive at twenty-four?! Death, a term considered frightening to our ears. The idea of death or a person dying terrifies most of society. This has made discussing death an unthinkable topic in many societies. When speaking of death, most people often talk about their “bucket list” and how they would like to fulfill their dreams before they die. Scholars like Kastenbaum have discussed the topic of death in depth, while covering the anxiety one gets from thinking about it. We, as humans consider ourselves to be alive, but how do we prove we are actually alive? By utilizing Kastenbaum’s concept of life and death I will prove I am alive. What does it mean to be alive? The experience of being alive is different for everyone. No one can be certain on how being alive really feels or what the ideology is. Being alive is an experience that varies depending on the individual. Some believe that we, as individuals create our own experience of being alive. By selecting our own lifestyle choices we are already proving to be alive. By transitioning from the womb to babies, from babies to toddlers, from toddlers to teenagers, and from teenagers to adults, we have already commenced making choices, thus proving we are alive. One of the characteristics to consider when speaking about death is responsiveness. A person who is dead cannot respond to any of the signals the brain sends. A dead person cannot express their emotions, they don’t feel any pain, nor can they respond to any stimuli. Being able to respond to the signals my brain sends my body, expressing emotion, being aware of my surroundings, and reacting to all kinds of symptoms is proof that I am alive. Another piece of evidence that proves I am alive is being able to recite and ... ... middle of paper ... .... That person then starts to wonder if maybe they are not good enough, leading them to live a life of depression, causing them to feel dead. For the most part, being alive doesn’t always mean you have a life. . We, as humans consider ourselves to be alive, but how do we prove we are actually alive? Although, the lack of decomposition in my body is proof I am alive, proving I am alive has been a daunting task. In order to prove I am alive I had to challenge one to understand the difficulty and different circumstances on how a person is considered to be dead. I have tried proving that I, myself am alive by utilizing Kastenbaum’s characteristics on death. Some of the characteristics include movements, body temperature, respiration, heartbeat, and stiffness. Establishing that I procure the characteristics of a breathing person, I believe to have validated I am alive.

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