Making Them Count

8 February 2012Annie L

Brentwood students go through their daily routine, expecting the challenging workload and the fast-paced and diverse life our school offers us. What we don’t see coming is January, February and the following months, at least not in the speed at which they arrive.

Surveying students, I asked them what they thought the difference was between being alive and truly living. Some students observed that being alive is when you have a “beating heart and a working brain” (Theresa S) and living is when you use them to enjoy “life the way it is and make the best of it” (Mini G). Others said that living was about “conquering your fears, helping others” (Emily R), and reaching the “extent of happiness” (Kyu Ho.L).

Students were also asked when was the last time they did something for the first time. A few wrote that they tried something new just the day before while others said, “December” or “a few weeks ago”.

This may all seem very bland and meaningless so I’ll stop tormenting you, dear readers, and get to the point.

Time doesn’t stop for anyone. “Embrace each day” (Sarah M) and encompass yourself in things “you want to do instead of things you think you should do” (Angie W).

My suggestion to you is to make a list of 20 things that make you happy and try to accomplish one per day. Write down a list of things you have been meaning to get around to and please stop saying: “I’ll do it tomorrow” or “Maybe next week”. You can learn a lot about someone from the relationships between what they say and what they do.

So, what are you doing “sitting, waiting, wishing” (Jack Johnson)? Life is too short to take only seriously and “no one gets out alive anyway” (anonymous, written on a bathroom wall at King Street Station, Seattle). Make your days count!

A final question: Will you remember what you did yesterday a year from now? It’s never too late to start living.

Annie L