What I Consider A Life Worth Living

A straightforward answer to this would be:

For me, it’s all about my choices—to able to touch other people’s lives and leave this world a better place than I first found it— that would define me towards the end of my life.

I know I may have sounded so cliché, but I don’t really want my accomplishments and failures to define me as I lie down on my deathbed. Sure, I feel good and proud whenever people praise and commend me for my accomplishments, but I know it’s only temporary. When I got a perfect score in the accounting exam last week, people were all like, “Wow! Congratulations!” I won’t deny that it felt good, but that glory was short-lived probably because it doesn’t really have anything to do with them. It was just something rewarding for myself that heck I don’t even believe is something that defines me. It was just a combination of luck and God’s gift to be better in that field than some other people. I’ve never really seen being smart, artistic, creative, athletic, etc. as something that defines a person. For me, it is just something we’ve been born with like how most kings become kings simply because of their royal lineage. What I do believe that would define me, how people would remember me, however, are the choices I make. Whether by choosing to hold a door for a stranger or going out of my way just to help a friend in need, I believe that big or small, even with my own little ways, as long as it’s something that I choose to do to leave a positive impact in this world, is good enough for people to remember me.

I have good friend who always look out for me, are very encouraging and supportive, and as much as how hard I try to match these kind gestures, I just can’t. All I can do is at least try to be the same good friend that they are to my other friends. I do and will always do remember them for that. I will always be reminded of how thankful I am of them for touching my life and taking part in my personal growth—in becoming the more compassionate and loving person I am right now. I know in myself that I want to do and be remembered just that.

To be able to leave that positive impact, I like to believe that I have to do something for someone, which they can never repay. All they can at least do is pay it forward. And this is what really sparks the most change in us: one that is internal—a love that transforms. They would just remember how I made them feel, not the diplomas hung on my wall, not the money I have in the bank, not the number of land titles and businesses (I hope) I have (in the future). I want this memory of myself to be something intangible, something the people I know can keep in their hearts forever because I’ve been able to positively influence them through my words or actions at some point in our lives.

History after all is also composed of the people we meet and interact with—may it be from the past, present, or the future—and we all have our own choices on how we want to leave our mark in this world, in the lives of the people we love. It may sound shallow and a little ambitious, but I know I want the people around me to feel that their lives would not have been as well off without me having been a part of it.

So now, I want you to ask yourself too: What do you consider a life worth living?