A Life's Legend

         Life is an endless string of math problems, solvable only through trial and error. I hate that. At times, I want to yell at life’s incoherence. I am constantly reminded of time’s immutable existence. Despite life’s persistent nature, I can defend myself against it. Pieces can be picked up from shattered ambitions to be put back together. The weapons I possess are lessons to be summoned and applied appropriately. I cannot prepare for every battle and I expect thousands of more defeats in the future. But I plan on tipping the scale, scoring even more victories. Although some lessons still elude me, I rely on five in particular during hard times. They come from corners within me that are mostly dim to the awareness of others. Perhaps, with some life-countering persistence, I can bring them into the light.
         What is the key to succeeding in life? Do some people have a preternatural talent that the rest of us lack? Or is there some other explanation for the conundrum? Luck, while still a factor, is of little consequence, and relying on it is foolish and cowardly. Ultimately, life is a choice: Right or easy. Everyone knows the difference between right and wrong, and if everyone acted positively with that knowledge, harmony would reign. The real choice? The high road or the low road. Just because an action isn’t wrong, it’s not necessarily right. There is always a right thing to do, and often people ignore the choice. Doing right all the time is hard, and there are few who attempt to do so. Everyone should try, however, because everyone has that capacity.
         People forget they have the ability to do the right thing. Why do people forget? The memory is a cruel abstraction. It does not merely affect its owner’s life, but everyone else’s as well. A person’s memory is hardly a private entity. Instead, it acts as a medium through which people develop an image. A person’s memory defines him. I’ve learned that people only remember what is important to them. People choose what they remember, based on their priorities. When important things are remembered unimportant ones are forgotten. A problem arises because everyone has different priorities. Calamities occur when priorities conflict. They come from many sources, but I find that priorities spring mostly from a person’s upbringing.
         A person’s upbringing is central to her personality. Upbringing is the greatest factor in determining who a person is and who she will become. Every part of a person is shaped by her earliest experiences. The greatest influences on a child during upbringing, the parents, virtually have the power to choose who their child will grow up to be. By altering their own personalities, therefore changing their actions, parents can almost customize their child’s personality. It is possible to change a person after she has grown beyond her parents’ influence. But, after that point in life, change usually comes with sacrifice. Events of high impact are required for a person to change, and the definition of high-impact differs from one person to the next. Ultimately, no matter what happens to a person, she must choose to change. Change does not happen by itself.
I’ve tried persuading people to change before. Through my efforts, I’ve learned that everyone lives their lives their own way, and that’s okay. Everyone is different, yet some people feel they can tell someone to think a different way. Moral decisions, spiritual decisions, sexuality decisions, and all others are individual journeys. It is contrary to believe that a person has the right to force their morals on another person and expect that person to immediately follow his newly appointed maxim. Everyone should choose what they believe, no matter if it makes any sense to anyone else or not. Following in someone else’s footprints based on no prior knowledge other than a flashy first impression is foolish and not advisable. People should choose what they think and learn to ask questions. How can we figure out why we are here if we don’t think for ourselves? Imagination is the most powerful force.
For one reason or another, no matter what you believe, we’re here, and, in the end, it won’t matter if there’s a real reason that we are here or not. When people die, the only things that matter to them are their beliefs. The last of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that a person’s beliefs are her most prized possessions. Everyone would die happy if they knew they were dying according to their beliefs. Beliefs determine what people feel in the end. Everyone chooses what they believe and live for. When I am on my death bed, what I feel will be determined by my feelings of accomplishment or regret. I’ll feel wonderful when I die if I feel like I fulfilled my dreams. It makes no difference whether anyone’s beliefs are right. What matters is if the beliefs make sense to their creators.
         By no means are my lessons meant to be taken unquestioningly; I would rather have them contemplated for months than be accepted unconditionally. In the grand scheme of things, the lessons themselves don’t even matter. Life still goes on, unremittingly. There’s no way that I know of to work against the insanely slow grinding of time. I could regale you, dear reader, with a thousand lessons, but the tick, tock, tick of life would continue, barely giving my pathetic objections a glance. Time stops for no one. So don’t stop for it. “Forget regret or life is yours to miss”: One of my favorite lines from Rent and a real life lesson. Keep pushing forward and die happy, because we all die someday. Each man and woman is the sum of his or her actions. So make your life a legendary one, and maybe in the future some poor souls will study your life and realize they too can choose to be legendary.