A Lifetime

What have you done in your life that was worthwhile? Are you a firefighter, saving the lives of people trapped in burning prisons? Do you donate money to charities? Or do you donate your time to where volunteer work is needed? “The life given to us by nature is short, but the memory of a life well spent is eternal.” – Cicero This I believe.

I believe this because many people can be affected by what you do with your life. Just think how far a few dollars can go in a third-world country, where people live on under $2.00 a day. If you are involved in one of the many sponsorship programs, you usually get a picture of the person you are sponsoring and vice-versa. That person will probably remember you forever as the person that helped them to survive. Just think, the person you have saved may one day be the person to who grows up and finds the cure for cancer, or some other terrible disease.

Chief John Eversol was a teacher, a believer in the safety of those he taught, a person who affected many people nationwide. He was a fire chief in Chicago, and was the leader of HazMat training as well as other programs. He recently died, and thousands of people have showed support by donating $50,000+ to a scholarship foundation in honor of his work in less than six months. My dad was one of the lucky few who knew him personally. After a dedication of a railcar-turned classroom for John, my asked me, “So how many people do you think John Eversol affected in his life?” “Uh, hundreds?” I replied. “Thousands.” My dad said. The life we have here on Earth is short, but by spending time doing worthwhile things during your lifetime, what you have done will last forever with the people close to you.

“I have a dream…” were the words that Martin Luther King Jr. spoke a few decades ago. During those times, African Americans and whites were segregated. He worked to unite these groups of people, and it only took a few people to stand up for themselves. Rosa Parks led a protest on a bus, which led to her arrest. The African Americans abandoned public transportation, which led to monetary issues with those companies. Laws were changed, and new ones were made. King was assassinated, but his dream lived on, and today there is more equality than there ever was during those times, all because of one man’s dream. Good things done in one’s life will be remembered indefinitely. This I believe.