Alan Sachs phrase “Everybody dies, but not everybody lives” (Alan Sachs) conjures every loner and scardy-cat’s deathbed nightmare. Six simple words spark the question “Have I lived?” in any mind, but few are able to answer that question with a “Yes”. I, Austin Motz, am a sixteen year old with two brothers and am involved in robotics, marching band, orchestra, cycling, and boy scouts and I’m determined to answer that question by saying I couldn’t have lived better. My life goal is to never regret, to never wish I did something differently. A feat like this is incredibly difficult to accomplish so a extreme amount of focus and work is required for my path to excellence in school, my plans to become an engineer, and my balance of time and extracurriculars. …show more content…
An observer looking in at my life would say I have an extreme case of FOMO, the fear of missing out. Reflecting upon this summer when I went to the boundary waters, a canoe spot in the wilderness, I would not slow down for anything. I stole every memory I could during this time, taking in every sight and sound. My friends, also there with me, wanted to take it slow and sit in camp for a day. I told them “everybody dies, but not everybody lives”(Alan Sachs) then continued to cruise around the bend, eager for what experience the lake had to offer. I simply wanted to make the most out of the time we had in the wilderness. I did not see the point in being there if we were not going to take advantage of it, so this pushed me to go further. I do not wish we rested and am glad I saw so much there. This instance is one of many types in my life where I am afraid of what I could miss. Today’s world holds grudges worse than ever before; a person’s past will haunt them forever. I am on a quest for my past to be the wind pushing my ship across the ocean of life. I don’t want to ever look back and say “I wish I did something differently there.” Instead, I will say “That was fun” while referring to academic, future, and personal aspects of my life. All of this amounts to me being able to claim that I lived while I stare death in the eyes. Will you be able to claim the same, or will you
The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon. (Krakauer 57)” McCandless felt the trip was necessary to fill a void in him. He became so infatuated with adventure that he encouraged others to venture out and explore the world. Unfortunately for McCandless he was very stubborn.
Christopher McCandless, an American traveler, once said “So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservation, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality, nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit.” This quote is far more universally applicable than originally thought to be. Throughout one’s life, one will undoubtedly experience some form of conformity. The driving factor in a majority of these moments is fear; fear of not fitting in, or of not living up to society’s expectations. The only thing that lets one escape conformity is the truth known from past experiences. This
After looking into the journey and obstacles he faced to scale this dangerous and intimidating mountain, I noticed with each stop at each rest area he had learned something different about himself or established a new outlook about the journey. But it was not until they were in the final leg of the journey in which he learned his greatest lesson about himself. It was during the last leg that he realized he had spent most of the day looking at “how far he had to go,” instead of relishing in “how far he had come.” After stating he normally views things as “the glass half empty” I realized, I too, have a similar outlook on life. It was in this moment that I realized perception has a large impact on how I maneuver throughout life, bringing the popular phrase “mind over matter” to my
I close this essay with a message to anyone who may be reading this or even have the same troubles as me. Life will always throw challenges in your way, you will be lost at times and even scared to death. But in the end you will prevail. “Each day of life is a gift, that is why it is called the present”
The talk is about the importance of overcoming obstacles, enabling the dreams of others and of truly enjoying every single moment of life. The talk follows a sequence of events starting from the childhood dreams of Dr. Pausch reflecting his self-awareness as he talks about various life lessons learnt, and how one’s life is shaped and molded by various life experiences both good and bad. Dr. Pausch lists his childhood dreams and takes the audience through what he learnt from each of those in dreams in either achieving them or failing to achieve them while trying. Some of his dreams include experiencing zero gravity, publishing articles in the World Book Encyclopedia and winning stuffed animals in theme parks, which he does achieve in life and talks about the sense of accomplishment and the pride one takes in achieving something you always wanted as a child. For example when his research team submitted a proposal for the ‘Vomit Comet’ project at NASA , Dr. Pausch discovered that only students are allowed to experience zero gravity part of the program. Nevertheless he relentlessly pursues to challenge the process while ensuring innovative ...
I did not know it at the time, but in November of 2005, I was knocking on death’s door. I was living in Naperville, IL with my girlfriend and her family. It was a few days before Thanksgiving, and the family was preparing for the holiday celebration. I was starting to feel a bit under the weather, but it was flu season.
I became resentful at myself, my dad, and the all-too-innocent trail for challenging me, as though backpacking was supposed to be a walk in the park. I allowed myself to be a martyr of my own design, absorbing distress with seemingly no control. I was oblivious to the progress I had made and the privilege I was afforded to truly experience nature. I mistook lousy weather and a slowed pace for failure.
Does one’s past define his or her future? Certainly not! "Regardless of what has happened in our lives, or what we have done in the past, we can choose behaviors th...
Thus far in my schooling, I have been to many schools that have all taught me in various ways. At public school, my grades were not the best and now that I am a private schooler, I am learning faster and more efficiently while earning straight A's. School is really enjoyable now that the students are friendlier, teachers are more caring, and I am taught in such a way that best suits my learning abilities.
As I grow older, I will attempt to create a life that I can look back on and think, “That was a life worth living.” Recently, my boyfriend’s grandfather passed away. He knew that his last day was near, but he kept saying that he was not sad, for he had lived a long full life (Matthew Morel, personal communication, February 2016). Contrarily, my grandmother, who is still living today, is obviously in a state of
I will be introducing my personal worldview and what I believe. I will then, review and discuss most of the questions I conducted in my interview. I used some of my own questions formulate my interview, but then related them to the Sire textbook questions. My interview questions and answers are relevant and most intriguing to the reader. I discovered complexities, consistencies and inconsistencies within my interview. I will then, compare and contrast my personal worldview with my interviewee. My conclusion will restate and overall recap of my worldview and my interviewee’s worldview.
Many individuals have different aspects as to how life should be valued. Some individuals live life a day at a time while attempting to make the most as if their last breath was upcoming. In a Stanford Commencement in 2005, Apple CEO Steve Jobs quo...
Life without hope in a dull, frustrating world congeals the stuff of human existence...almost. To some, born-lived-died is more than the plot of too many bad novels; it dooms them, chaining their lives to a Maslowian fate. Others drown the raw truth in unrelenting labor, raucous revelry, sunlit spring breezes, cigarettes at noontime, or the bottle. Yet some find hope in this droll, frustrating world, but they will not agree and cannot be sure of that hope. Or can they?
There have been tons of things that I have learned and been taught in my life, by a number of people such as family, teachers, or even friends on occasion. The things they taught me vary from math and other related subjects to just some truly simple yet meaningful life lessons. However, there is nothing quite as unique, quite as special as a person teaching themselves a life lesson. It really is an amazing accomplishment for a person to teach themselves something. It is not quite as simple as another person teaching them something because it is not just the transferring of information from one person to another. The person instead has to start from scratch and process the information they have in their mind in order to come up with a new thought
It was dark that night, I was nervous that this dreadful day was going to get worse. Sunday, October 23, 1998 I wanted to start writing this to tell about the weird things i’m starting to see in this new neighborhood. Gradually I keep seeing pots and pans on the sink suddenly move to the floor. I would ask my sister but she is out with my mom and dad getting the Halloween costumes. When they got home I didn’t tell them what I saw because i've seen Halloween movies and I have to have dissimulation otherwise the ghost will come out and get me first. October 24, 1998 I think I got a little nervous yesterday with the whole ghost thing. 12:32pm, Went to eat lunch with the family today and I go to get my coat. I heard the words furious and madness,