"The Band Perry - If I Die Young"
I heard this song on the radio tonight as I drove home, and it got me thinking.
We know that no day is guaranteed; that you can leave one morning, never to come home in the evening. That through circumstance, or situation, or illness, we could not get the chance to say 'I love you' or 'thank you' to our partner, parent, child or friend... That we might never get the chance to summarize what we have done; we'd have others summarize our lives for us.
So I thought, if I did die young, I would be content with all I have had, achieved, and experienced in my life.
If it were to be, it would have to be. I wouldn't like people to say, "I was taken too soon" or, "My life was cut short" - because I have had a full life, even if I am only 24 years old.
Yes, I would be sad; that I perhaps didn't get the full life someone else has. But I would be happy with 'my lot' in life.
Because I am thankful that, first and foremost, I have had parents who spoilt me with love. I have the best parents I could ask for or ever want. Sure, they didn't get everything right, but who does? Without them, I would be nothing. And I can only hope I turned out okay in their eyes, that they would be proud of me...
I have been blessed with a wonderful, big, loving family; I had the pleasure of knowing all my Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles and cousins, and Great Aunts and second cousins once- and twice-removed, and their babies, who live in my city or half-way across the world... No matter the distance between my family, I have always felt their love and appreciated being a part of their lives, as much as they are a part of mine.
My family extended to the furry, four-legged, or finned kind that I grew up with; my pets gave me unconditional love and cuddles, and I was blessed to have had them in my life.
I have had lifelong friends who have grown with me, made school friends who have stayed by me, and found friends through work, sport or travel, who offer me different points of view on life. I am thankful for everyone I got to meet in my life, because they all taught me something.
And I have had love. I had the pleasure of knowing what it felt like to fall head over heals, to be smitten, to have the butterflies. To dote on someone, to let them know you intimately, to let them see you at your best and your worst...
I learnt and studied as much as I could have hoped for; through school and university and work and travel, I never stopped learning. And I am thankful for all the opportunities that I had to learn.
I had the time to learn the lyrics to thousands of songs; I have sung aloud in my car, or with friends at concerts or late night in cars or bedrooms.
I have lived in a beautiful city, close to beaches and volcanoes and islands; a metropolitan, multicultural place that will be forever changing, but always my home.
I grew up in a time of technological advancement, and was able to join in on the ride... I loved that I could capture 1,000 photographs on one camera, or message someone on the other side of the world while sitting on the train. That I can stay connected to friends' lives 12 hours apart, like they live down the road. That my global community was as personal as my local community.
I have had the able body to play the sports I love, to be a part of a team and teach others as well. I have appreciated how my body can change, can work and can tolerate what I put it through. I have been lucky.
And I have flown to far places, lived in and visited the most amazing cities, and seen some of the most impressive wonders of this world. Sculptures, buildings, artworks, modern and old; different people, communities, societies, with different habits and ways of living - I am blessed to have had my eyes opened and mind broadened by these.
To have a collection of over 25,000 photos and over 5,000 songs and 500+ Facebook friends to tell the stories of my life... To remember how I have lived my 24 years.
So, if I were to die young, I would only be thankful that I had as much time as I did, to experience everything I have, and to have loved everyone I have loved.
I heard this song on the radio tonight as I drove home, and it got me thinking.
We know that no day is guaranteed; that you can leave one morning, never to come home in the evening. That through circumstance, or situation, or illness, we could not get the chance to say 'I love you' or 'thank you' to our partner, parent, child or friend... That we might never get the chance to summarize what we have done; we'd have others summarize our lives for us.
So I thought, if I did die young, I would be content with all I have had, achieved, and experienced in my life.
If it were to be, it would have to be. I wouldn't like people to say, "I was taken too soon" or, "My life was cut short" - because I have had a full life, even if I am only 24 years old.
Yes, I would be sad; that I perhaps didn't get the full life someone else has. But I would be happy with 'my lot' in life.
Because I am thankful that, first and foremost, I have had parents who spoilt me with love. I have the best parents I could ask for or ever want. Sure, they didn't get everything right, but who does? Without them, I would be nothing. And I can only hope I turned out okay in their eyes, that they would be proud of me...
I have been blessed with a wonderful, big, loving family; I had the pleasure of knowing all my Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles and cousins, and Great Aunts and second cousins once- and twice-removed, and their babies, who live in my city or half-way across the world... No matter the distance between my family, I have always felt their love and appreciated being a part of their lives, as much as they are a part of mine.
My family extended to the furry, four-legged, or finned kind that I grew up with; my pets gave me unconditional love and cuddles, and I was blessed to have had them in my life.
I have had lifelong friends who have grown with me, made school friends who have stayed by me, and found friends through work, sport or travel, who offer me different points of view on life. I am thankful for everyone I got to meet in my life, because they all taught me something.
And I have had love. I had the pleasure of knowing what it felt like to fall head over heals, to be smitten, to have the butterflies. To dote on someone, to let them know you intimately, to let them see you at your best and your worst...
I learnt and studied as much as I could have hoped for; through school and university and work and travel, I never stopped learning. And I am thankful for all the opportunities that I had to learn.
I had the time to learn the lyrics to thousands of songs; I have sung aloud in my car, or with friends at concerts or late night in cars or bedrooms.
I have lived in a beautiful city, close to beaches and volcanoes and islands; a metropolitan, multicultural place that will be forever changing, but always my home.
I grew up in a time of technological advancement, and was able to join in on the ride... I loved that I could capture 1,000 photographs on one camera, or message someone on the other side of the world while sitting on the train. That I can stay connected to friends' lives 12 hours apart, like they live down the road. That my global community was as personal as my local community.
I have had the able body to play the sports I love, to be a part of a team and teach others as well. I have appreciated how my body can change, can work and can tolerate what I put it through. I have been lucky.
And I have flown to far places, lived in and visited the most amazing cities, and seen some of the most impressive wonders of this world. Sculptures, buildings, artworks, modern and old; different people, communities, societies, with different habits and ways of living - I am blessed to have had my eyes opened and mind broadened by these.
To have a collection of over 25,000 photos and over 5,000 songs and 500+ Facebook friends to tell the stories of my life... To remember how I have lived my 24 years.
So, if I were to die young, I would only be thankful that I had as much time as I did, to experience everything I have, and to have loved everyone I have loved.
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