Value of Life

I find meaning in life by setting and achieving goals and standards for myself. I devote my entire life to achieving these goals. They include such things as getting very good grades, doing all my homework, going to every Frisbee practice and putting money away into my savings account.

Around the summer of tenth grade, I dragged my self up from the bowels of society. I found out a few weeks ago that this was because I started caring about things. When I used to hang out in West Haven with a bunch of drugged-up high school dropouts going to Job Core, I woke up. Seeing this failure and ignorance all around me instilled in me a serious sense of “I don’t want to be like that.” I started noticing where my life was going, and where I really wanted to go. I did not want to go to job core and I wanted to be successful like my parents. In my junior year, I saw a jump in GPA, from 2.5 to 3.9. I found that to be successful in life, I would have to set and reach goals.

Some people may ask me why I’m not afraid of dying. I do not believe in fate but that whatever happens, happens. I desire to explore the world, have a family, be successful and do as many things as possible. I want to go waterskiing without skis. I want to jump out of a plane. I want to scuba dive. I want to learn how to play guitar. I want to get better at Ultimate Frisbee. I want to be a better person. These are things that I very much desire to do before I die. If I die tomorrow though, I want to believe that I have experienced enough and done everything I possibly can. This relates to the fact that I will not settle for anything below my ability. I wish to reach and work for my rewards. To work to the best of my ability and do as many things as I possibly can gives live meaning for me.

This, in turn makes me happy.  To be who I want to be, to live and love and learn is what I ultimately desire in life. 

These personal goals probably don’t mean much to the growth of humanity, but if my personal growth contributes to the growth of society as a whole, then I am happy. I don’t expect myself to become president (nor would I want to), and I don’t desire to significantly change the world by myself. This may seem very self-absorbed to some, but I can still make a difference in the larger scheme of things, such as by voting for president.

The question, “What is the meaning and purpose of life?” does not have a simple answer. Many, many, many people have wondered this question, but there is no answer, or dominantly correct answer. My life is meaningful to me when I set goals for myself and achieve them.