This I Believe

This past year, I experienced death for the first time actually being aware of the impact it makes on life. In a single moment I felt isolation, terror, disappointment, and depression as my world shifted drastically. My grandmother lived her life on the edge as she took every chance she could to do something crazy and to take a risk. Growing up in the heart of Kansas, she never had the opportunity to learn how to swim, but at age fifty-two she learned how to swim and at age sixty-three she was determined to parasail. As if those aren’t risky enough, she decided to learn how to fly a plane at the age of fifty-four. These are just a few examples of her accomplishments as she persistently lived her life to the fullest at such old ages. Doing this, she innocently and unknowingly was influencing me along with many others to follow her inspiring ways.

I believe that in a world of constant disappointment and depression, there is always a reason to take risks and be fearless.

Since her death, I realized the vital value of life. I plan to follow her example, and in doing this I hope to influence others to live their lives to the fullest as well. From flying planes to being an extra in multiple movies and TV shows, she chased her dreams and accomplished everything that she had been longing to do in life. I believe now that life is too short and valuable to sit and watch from the sidelines without taking any chances.

I imagine the regret that will overcome me when I look back in the future if I take no risks and take the easy way out every time. I don’t plan on sitting back and watching others do crazy and fearless things, instead I plan to do them myself. With this, I have decided to accomplish the things in life that I have been longing to accomplish. In the future, when I look back on life, hopefully I will be able to say that I have lived fearlessly, meaning I have done everything that I can imagine without having any regrets. For this philosophy I have my grandma to thank. Living fearlessly is now a rule that I live my life by every day.