The Importance Of Life In My Life

Famous musician, Arthur Rubinstein once stated, “There is no formula for success except perhaps an unconditional acceptance of life and what it brings”. Walking to school every day since being first enrolled in pre-school exposed me to a world different than what was displayed in television every morning. Cartoons would display joyful people out in the streets, clean sidewalks, and worryless kids. Once I would step outside of home and take hold of my mother’s hand and begin walking, I would see a world very different. Homeless sleeping on the dirty, uneven sidewalks became a daily scene I’d watch on my way to school. Streets littered with empty beer cans and bottles, used syringes, and a gray sky is what I remember most. Becoming very observant of my surroundings helped me develop the understanding of real world problems very early in life, shaping me as more of a critical thinker than others. My middle school experience changed me. As the agents of ICE drove away in a gray van with my father under their custody one Saturday morning, my life went from just identifying differences between real world issues and what was portrayed on television, to now living a struggle I was not prepared for at all. Knowing that my father would never set foot in the household again, I was now referred to as “the man of the house” by everyone who became aware of my family’s situation. Seeing how my mother was the one to take the biggest hit of all really took its toll on my new sense of responsibility. My mother would now only have her income to depend on in order to maintain the house, her business, and her three kids of whom I am the middle and only male child.

“Why are we here, what is the purpose of life?” Questions like these have haunted human beings for millennia. How people answer questions such as these can determine the course of their lives. The answers, of course, are as individual as are people. For me, the answers revolve around three things that I consider the most important in life: to know God, to know yourself, and to know your part or calling.

I remember in second grade when my mom told me something that I’ve tried to keep with me over the years. “Do something nice for someone today, but keep it to yourself. Don’t tell anyone, just do it for the sake of being nice.” So, I did. It wasn’t much, but I pushed in chairs, straightened up cubbies, and picked up things around the class. The whole time I did, I felt this little rush. Doing things for other people felt good, even if no one thanked me. After that day, I tried to keep the same attitude. But in middle school, I learnt that the kindness you give is not always returned or appreciated no matter how hard you try.

Happily, several things I have aspired to achieve in my younger years, have finally come to fruition in the autumn days of my life. Despite not winning the lottery (yet), I have been lucky enough to accomplish most of those “dreams” I had fantasized about in my younger years. But it wasn't until recently, I found my niche in the world of free-lance writing. Taunting and vexing me, fate dangled the golden apple of writing and paid opportunities in front of my wanting eyes for years. Now, as I look out into the inspiring skyline of my city from not one, but two directions, I can not only take pride in one of my goals being realized, but |I can do it from the comfort of my home and corner office - in my pyjamas.

I lifted my backpack off of the sidewalk and kissed my mother goodbye. As I turned to walk away she quickly grabbed my arm and twisted me around. She pulled me in closer and softly said to me, “Remember our golden rule, treat others the way you would want to be treated and they will treat you the same.” I applied the ‘Golden Rule’ every year, from the beginning of kindergarten to the end of 8th grade. The golden rule taught me how to build friendships, see the best in people, openly accept them for how they come, and love them for who they are. Throughout the years the golden rule stopped being a rule and started to become a part of me. Little did I know, there was a downside to it. It was during my first year of high school when I realized that you could treat people the way you would like to be treated but that doesn’t mean they’re obligated to treat you the same.

The despairing faces and the exhilarating emotions that overwhelm the room as I think back to how irrational life can be. I notice their hands were reluctantly raised to answer a simple math problem that I had written on the board. Looking around, I have never seen such fragile students that are eager to learn but afraid to speak. However, these are the same students who helped me realize how important it was for me to be in that room. A star that shined bright, guiding the helpless voyagers to shore. I always thought life was linear , where everything increased at a constant slope, but that is definitely not the case. Thinking about the many unexpected turns it can take and how it places laborious weight on a person's decisions and responsibilities My life can be summarized from the last four years, from the beginning of high school to now. I always caught myself walking the halls contemplating my purpose in life and why I felt so incomplete. Until finally, everything fell into place, learning what my heart cared for the most and what and who I wanted to be now. Math has always been something that defines me. Going from being a normal student to a math tutor, it really shows me my own capabilities and limits.

Lying in bed as I drift off to sleep, I lay and think about what a blessed life that I am living. Dark candle lit room, marshmallow fireside scent, with light creeping under the door as my roommates are still awake out in the living room of our modestly sized apartment. I listen to my fan and tune out their voices and I call to mind the stories my parents have told that have molded me and my brother into the men we have become. Thanks to them I am able to live the comfortable lifestyle that I have and am fortunate enough to attend college at a wonderful university that I otherwise would not be able to afford. I relay so many experiences in my head each night before bed almost as if they happened yesterday.

“There will always be a reason why you meet people. Either to change your life or theirs.” I believe that everyone comes into your life for a reason. It’s just our job to decide if it is a blessing or to teach us a lesson. My parents got divorced when I was only three years old and I was an only child, so when my dad and stepmom told me I was going to be an older sister at age eleven I wasn’t super excited. To be completely honest I was kind of upset and scared. I had always lived with my mom and only visited my dad every other weekend, so I figured I wouldn’t have to see her that much anyways which made it a little better. Having been an only child my whole life I had no idea what it would be like, especially since she would be so much younger than me.

Life for me has always been making mistakes and learning from them. I’ve always been open to different experiences in life but I do have some boundaries. I know that everyone’s life in this world is different than every other person. I have been really close to my mom my whole life. I talk to her for hours and share my feeling, and tell her how my day goes. Whenever I had a problem, I knew that my mom would fix it for me, and once I tell her about it everything is going to be okay. I perpetually respect my parents and want to appreciate them for they do for me. I am really lucky that I have parents. Now as I became a teenager, I continuously thought that I would never change, my life would never change, I will always stay the same.

from then on my path was set. I had made my decision, I would run. Throughout my childhood I was always the short one. I could not say I was not athletic, but you would not see my making plays and scoring goals. I was always hesitant, worried for all of their safeties, worried for my own safety. Needles to say football was not my sport, but we will come back to that. I played almost every sport I could think of, I played Basketball, I played Baseball, I played Soccer, I played football, and almost every track event that they let me in. sadly, I wasn’t very good at any of them.

A big lesson that I learned about respect and having good sportsmanship was playing on the tennis team. We were playing a doubles match at Century High School when our opponents were starting to call serves out when they were in. Later on in the game when I would call there serves out they would question me every time. So the next serve I made that was clearly in, that they called out again and I said “you sure about that?’ They replied “Yes”, and then I yelled “well maybe you need go to put you're contacts in”.

I have been wanting to write about something that has been very close to my heart lately, but I have been struggling with how to put it into words. I have always been a lover of this life and enthusiastic, but even at times, I need to be reminded that it is up to me to make the choice to love my life. Joy, happiness, enthusiasm, gratitude, and all these wonderful characteristics of life are simply choices. It is your choice if you are going to truly and genuinely enjoy your life. You could have absolutely nothing, but with the right attitude, you have everything.

I have always preferred to show up early to events. This trend seemingly began as I was born prematurely at 32 weeks, a tribulation that nearly took both me and my mother's life. Unlike most newborns, I spent the first few hours of life in a neonatal intensive care unit as doctors rushed to mend my collapsed lung. Although I was not as big as expected and I came partially broken, my three siblings sat in the hospital waiting room with my father, eager to get their small, stubby fingers around their early gift of a little brother. I came into this world similar to an unripened fruit, but fortunately I sprouted in an exceptional community with the most valuable mentors.

My life is sort of like a book, it should not be judged by its cover. Most of my peers perceive that everything in my life is sailing smoothly but boy were they wrong. While faking my well being was not in my best interest, I did it anyways. But because I lived up to the joyful girl I made myself to be people did not get to know who I truly am. Certainly life has been a struggle but slowly I am tearing down the walls I have built to protect myself because it is what I deserve.

Crouched under a mango tree trying to find shade from the scorching sun as sweat drips from my head to my feet, sizzling as it hits the ground. The temperature rises day by day in the summer I pray for rain to fall, looking at the stray animals on the streets in thirst for water. I stare off into the distance of barren acres of land, touching the dry, cracked soil and seeing lifeless crops die due to the boiling heat that I needed to take care of. As a boy living in the rural areas of India in a middle-class family, everyone in the village was taught at a young age to start working. Even though, I was the third child out of my four sibling it didn’t stop my parents from making me work out in the fields. It was tough having to do manual labor like doing field work to feeding and taking care of the animals every day. As the roosters crow I wake up immediately and lay out my school uniform and shower, I comb my hair slicked back, put on my shoes and run off to school with my friends. I stopped going to school until the 10th grade because back in the day my parents wouldn't care that much about education like today. It was more about harvesting corn in the summer to plant seeds in the winter. When I was around 20 years old my two older siblings got married and my family decided it was my turn. But my father tried to help me do something in life first and not sit at home and drink or smoke so he opened a pharmacy, but that didn't work out so long due to my obsession with alcohol and just being lazy which stopped the business from lasting and I continued to do nothing.