The
Gift of Life
Preface: "This I Believe" is a website that accepts essays that people write expressing their main belief(s) in life. Our English class was tasked with creating essays to submit, and this is my submission (less the preface, obviously). This assignment has allowed me to come to terms with my past, which I have tried to block out of my mind in the past. I think I have come out healthier in this experience, because I have learned to embrace the experiences I've been through.
My mother and I walked down the corridor of the local
Salvation Army and got in line, where the more charitable were serving lunch to
the homeless. We filled our plates and looked for two seats beside each other
in the dining hall. The thought of taking handouts disgusted me, but I needed
the sustenance, and the occurrence was becoming commonplace, and the feeling
customary. My mother urged me to go back for seconds. As I approached the line,
I saw a grizzly man with a tattered shirt and jeans with paint forever stuck to
them. The man walked up to me and said, “You got a Union Bay shirt? Alright!” I
was stricken. I had just received the red polo shirt earlier and thought
nothing of it; it was another donation from the Salvation Army, and I
associated Union Bay with Walmart and the like. What perplexed me more than the
man’s appreciation of the shirt was the fact that the man felt genuinely happy
and excited for me, because somebody
managed to get what he considered to be a great thing. Despite having
absolutely nothing, the man felt joy over the good fortune of someone else—He
was happy to be alive to witness it. This event helped ignite a new moral flame
of humanity, which burns to this day. With seven words, that grizzly old man
taught me to truly appreciate life in its entirety; he showed me that in the
most meager circumstances, there are things to still be thankful for. And so I
carry this axiom with me, and I believe I have become a better person because
of it.
After that day, I took pride in my Union Bay shirt. I
walked around with it on as if nothing was wrong, because misery is merely a
state of mind. I eventually grew out of the shirt, but as I matured, I realized
that other things could be regarded as the shirt had been regarded. Ultimately,
I came to the conclusion that life itself is a gift, and conscious perception proves
to be an even greater gift to go along with it. I have been given active
participation in the goings on in the universe, and I feel that I am obligated
to get the most out of it. As far as is known, we only get one life in this
dimension, so I strive to make life positive, not only for myself, but for
others. Just as I have learned to appreciate the things around me, I have
learned to be thankful for my intrinsic attributes. In doing that, I have been
able to acknowledge my talents and use them to get a post-secondary education.
As a result of learning to appreciate things, I have created more things to be
grateful for. I also committed to complimenting people and helping them see the
greatness in themselves. We’re all wearing Union Bay shirts, and I want
everyone to see that.
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