Rope Swings

Many experiences have shaped my outlook on life and how I feel that I should live my own life. Before the age of eighteen I had three friends that passed away due to uncommon circumstances which constantly reminds me of my mortality and how life can be over at any second, no matter how old you are. I have always believed that you should live your life to the fullest because you never know when that day will come, and I would like to die peacefully knowing that I have reached my full potential. If you do explore every possibility and take every chance that you have then you can never reflect back on your life and feel regret.

Luckily so far in my life I have done nearly everything that I have wanted to, and I have very few regrets. One of the only regrets that I ever think about it is one that others might consider ridiculous, but I regret never swinging on the rope that went over the pond when I visited my family in New Mexico. I still think about it every once in a while, I know it’s stupid to hold onto such small regrets like that but it has showed me that I should appreciate the small things in life and take advantage of those experiences. If I died young but had lived my life to its full capacity then I feel as if I would die peacefully. I believe some people can live just as fulfilling and enriching of a life when they die at 30 as someone who lived into their eighties but still thought of all those moments they never “jumped off the rope swing” when they were 12. I would much rather leave this world knowing I did all I could do and explored every possibility sooner rather than reaching an old age having lived my life in fear of the unknown.

So far in my life I am comfortable with how I have lived. Every day I wake up and do what makes me happy or what I know will make me happy later on in life, and I find that each experience I have enriches my life that much more. I just have to keep rolling with the punches and jumping off every rope swing I get the chance to, even if I’m afraid of falling in the pond and getting wet.