Life is a piece of cake. Share yours with a smile! 
Every cloud has a silver lining. Problems always have solutions. Don't worry. 
Never miss out on the simple good things in life. You only have one shot in it. 
Well I have, many times before. What is it like? How does it feel... what does heaven look like? Will I even go there?
Apparently, that's not the most important question to ask oneself right now. We should strive to have a good life while we still have it.
And with that, I present to you a reaction paper I submitted for my EDCO 101 class, on "Nurse Reveals Top 5 Regrets of the Dying" Click here to read the article
Here it goes:
I am young. I have lots of dreams. I have several insecurities, fears and worries about the future. I have tons of mistakes I struggled to bury in the depths of my poor memory, carefully stuffing them with the best of my happiest memories and experiences. I have lots of inhibitions—limitations that were either imposed on me by society or just by my stubborn-struggling-to-be-a-perfectionist self. I have an adventurous spirit and this has led me to a variety of experiences; some I was very thankful for and even proud of, while others made me wish I died before I succumbed to the temptation. I always face each day hoping that this time I can finally live my life to the fullest. At the end of the day, however, I find myself helplessly looking forward to more tomorrows. I guess I am a physical epitome of what people usually say, that when you’re young everything seems possible, death has no meaning and there’s just yet another tomorrow for you to improve yourself and fulfill your dreams.
And then came this article. A slap on my face; I was yet again reminded that youth is never a vaccine against death. Death comes whenever it’s due; it’s like we all have this deadline and not one of us is sure when we are scheduled for our flight to the afterlife. And with this, I realize that a person’s life in numbers is nothing compared to a life of if it is a life with no meaning. How long you stay here on this mortal world would not mean a thing if you just wasted your time. The clock is ticking, and it will continue its steady, unconcerned pace no matter how rich, poor, ugly, beautiful, adventurous, boring, or whatever you think you are. It does not care if you waste the gift it gives you—your thread of life. It is very fragile and indeterminate in length that one should guard it well to have the slightest feeling of security. True enough, most of us feel that we are wasting a lot of time, turning down more opportunities than what we accept, failing in more aspects of our lives than succeeding… still, we have no reason to dwell in regret, bask in laziness and drown in fear of what might happen.
As early as now I find myself regretting all of the five things enumerated in the article. “I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me. I wish I didn’t work so hard. I wish I had the courage to express my feelings. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. I wish that I had let myself be happier.” I have lived on the mortal sphere for 19 years, yet I know I have missed out on a lot of good things in life. It’s hard to keep up with a fast-changing world, moreover it’s harder when the world encourages you to change but society holds you back. As much as I want to live my life the way I want it to, as much as I want to show my real self to everyone, I know that it may not be for the good of the majority if I do so. As much as I don’t want to stress myself too much with work (but now it’s just academics), if I don’t do this I know I can’t keep up with the pace of my studies. And if I don’t, then I’m doomed. My future is doomed—so is that of those people I’m working hard for. As much as I wanted to blurt out, yell, slap and knock out all those people who have done me wrong, we all know that’s not right. I wanted to tell them as soon as possible that I hated them. But with an upcoming exam, family problems and other evil the world has dumped on these people, would I ever have the heart to further burden them with my anger? That has been one of my worst pains—that I can’t easily tell people how hurt I was because of what they did. I try to save them from the problem and with that I impose more of it onto my poor self. I know I have to fix it, but then it’s hard to change something you’ve been doing for so long. It’s my lifestyle. Then again, I can’t be a martyr forever. I have to change it for my own sake and for the good of all…for a nice and peaceful goodbye on my deathbed. As much as I wished that I fought harder to bring back my previous best friend close to me, I realized later on that I was already contented with what we are now… normal friends. Or maybe I just convinced myself that it’s much better this way, since the distance has grown too big and I was already shy about my cowardice, if not laziness. We both changed, and I am already contented with my new best friend. I have yet to accept the fact that the “what if” question will forever linger at the back of my mind. And lastly, as much as I wanted to be happy, I have made my life a sacrifice, I pledged that my mission will be to make this world a better and happier place, that I may place other people’s happiness before my own, should it be for the benefit of the majority. Is it bad? Is it bad that I had to take painful sacrifices just to help other people, though I may not really feel happy about it in the end? Isn’t it that doing good outweighs personal benefit? Apparently, I also should not be too hard on myself. Stress brings cancer. I don’t want cancer. It’s expensive. And it knows no mercy.
In the end, life that is easy to live is not worth anything but is all just a waste of time. True, perils and challenges would always be present but if we don’t face them, then we won’t go anywhere. Life is a continuous journey; we have to take steps in order to progress and make our stay on this planet a very fruitful experience. A life full of regret is not a good life. A person who knows how to let go of excess baggage and move on to give each day a new meaning is one blessed to know how to live a good life, and not just dream about it. The Lord can only do so much, though He has the greatest power of all, He has shared this power with us through our own free will. We have a share in leading our lives. We need to help ourselves achieve the best experiences and learn most if not all the lessons life has to offer. Life is short—no matter how long you stay here on Earth. Better use your time wisely. Judgment day will come with no notice and we must always be prepared. We must be armed with the right knowledge, tons of good deeds and fruitful experiences that we may have a good place with the Lord, and yes, with no regrets.
-------
btw, I was still 19 y.o. when I wrote this. Now I'm... 20. hahaha :p
