At the end of my life

Each person is given less than one century on Earth to put meaning into their life. I see only one purpose of life, to find, give and receive love. However, this love does not have to be between humans, it can be between a human and a book or a hobby. It can be between a dog and its squeaky toy. Although an inanimate object may not be able to express the words, “I love you,” it offers happiness in your life. That love, which makes you happy, gives meaning to your life. Through that happiness, each person influences his surroundings. Knowledge and family give me happiness. I believe it is impossible for someone to have a meaningless life. Even if someone may not impact someone’s immediate life; they will impact a future generation through their existence and mark left on Earth. You never know when your grave will be excavated for scientific research in a few millennia.

My father and I came up with a project entitled “Nowa Alexandria” that we want to jump start in my lifetime. Nowa in Polish can be translated as “nova” or “new”. Often I think about what pieces of information were stored at the ancient library in Alexandria. If we had those books and artifacts, would life be different? My father asked me, “where is the one place you can store information so that it will never get damaged.” I thought it was an easy question “the computer”. He returned “What if there is a war and the information system, including electricity gets destroyed?” At my puzzled expression, he said “Think outside of the box… or sphere.” Space. I want to create a program which will involve a capsule that will store duplicates of information and keep the information in space. After a few centuries, more capsules can be added and information from previous generations can be extracted. As the founder of the project, I will be infamous. Although fame is not necessarily an aspiration in my life, the thought of helping future generations understand my electronically-driven lifestyle will be worth it. Humanity will obviously benefit from centuries of information that will be protected from war and nature. The process can be internationally unifying as each nation or culture will contribute their duplicates.

Languages are a unifying force. Languages allow familiarity and comfort. In a situation where there is a language or cultural barrier, hearing words from “home” are welcoming and assuring. To the average frustrated high school student taking a foreign language the question, “Why cannot everybody learn English?” frequently surfaces. What if the universal language changes from English to Mandarin Chinese? In the course of my life, I want to become fluent in as many different languages as possible. I want to study the languages of the world, especially Arabic and Chinese. I am fortunate enough to know Polish, some French and Latin, but Roman rooted languages have become easy to understand for me. I want to look at Hebrew, Arabic and Singhalese and understand the message. I want to become familiar with as many cultures as possible so that I can see varying perspectives. Most nations remain ignorant of other cultures, and our understanding of another nation’s actions may be answered by studying their culture. As humans, we are all interconnected; we just need to remain open-minded and try to learn another language, thus learning another culture.

A few years ago, when I told my parents that I wanted to join the Peace Corps before I went to college, protests spewed out of their mouths. The words “safety” “career” and “education” all mixed in with the conversation. After much dispute, my parents convinced me that when I retire I will have more knowledge and experience to help others than I will as an eighteen year old. At the end of my life, I want to be judged by the service I give back to my community. As our new principal said, “To whom much is given, much is expected.” I have been blessed with a stable life; I want to help as much as I can those people who need it. I have always envied people who have been in the Peace Corps or organizations similar to them, because they have seen the world at its best and at its worst. Most importantly, people in such organizations give hope. Albus Dumbledore said, “Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” I want to be that light. Even if somebody is rich or poor, we are all capable of putting a smile on somebody else’s face. Happiness gives meaning to life. By joining the Peace Corps as a retiree, I hope to share my joy with others.

I have no idea what I will be doing in fifteen years, what kind of job I will have, what career I will have chosen; but I hope that I will find time to lobby about issues important to me. My friend’s mother is an inspiration for who I want to be in the future. Every Friday, she writes a letter to a government official, or newspaper editor expressing her opinions. If I feel passionate about an issue, I want to make my opinions clear. How can a democracy function, if the people do not speak up? I do not believe other people should make decisions without my input, as long as I am knowledgeable on the subject. I lobbied as a sophomore about Iran’s breach of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; I felt truly alive. I spoke to an advisor of Representative DeLauro and Senator Lieberman. I shared my ideas with them and they listened. I want to encourage other people to lobby because many people get lost in society. Humans are capable of communicating, but many believe they are insignificant. However, many insignificant people can make a huge impact. By sharing your experiences, you can influence another person’s decisions causing a chain reaction as that person influences another person.

At the end of the day, my family gives me happiness, thus giving me meaning and value in my life. You can always count on family to support you. There is a bond that cannot be matched by people out of the family. Nobody knows me better than my parents and my sister. I know that if I am ever upset, they will understand. I would trust my family with my most prized possession because I know they will never betray me. By the time I die, I hope to have children, grandchildren, and possibly a dog. I want to have children, who can continue my family’s traditions and mannerisms. I want to raise my children so that they can see the happiness in the world, rather than the misery. However, I want them to look at the world practically, and understand that there is injustice. But I want my family to give back the love they have received to everybody they meet. Where they find the love to distribute is up to them. They can find the source of love from family, friends, or a hope for the future. I know that my children and grandchildren will spread love in all its forms.

How will my life be judged? Hopefully by the amount of smiles that were put on other people’s faces. If you have ever made someone laugh, you have meaning in your life. Through all of life’s misery, it is the moments of sheer joy that we look back on.