what are we here for?
Looking back up to a year ago, I can tell how much I’ve changed. How I used to care nothing of credentials and awards or titles. What mattered to me was personality, how someone handled themselves, how they really lived through all the trials and tribulations. The claims and assertions that people had for themselves held no value to me, what mattered was really, who they were beneath it all.
Lately I’ve been working on my resume as the next school term draws near and I have to start applying for co-op jobs. For some reason, I’ve always had distaste for working on my resume and I couldn’t really put my finger on why. Working on my resume always brings a question to my mind… What am I here for? Yes… it is somewhat irrelevant and slightly more imperative of a question than one would hope for when thinking of a co-op placement.
To tie the two previous statements together: I disappoint myself. Lately I’ve been so focused on my own credentials and awards that I seem to forget all together what I’m here for in the first place. The whole ordeal reminds me of a something I was told before, and I’ll pass it on to you: Think of your funeral. When someone goes up to give a speech of your life, they begin reading out all your credentials. “Derek was the receiver of the such and such scholarship entering university, Derek was placed number one in the such and such competition.” To me, it’s all crap. Frankly, I wouldn’t want to be remembered for these personal achievements. Much rather, I’d want my eulogy to sound more like this: “Derek was kindhearted, giving, and will be dearly missed amongst friends. He impacted those around him in such a way that no one else could.” That sounds much more like a life worth living than one used to fulfill titles and credentials. To sum this all up, do you want to be remembered for the titles, the qualifications that you obtained over the years, or do you want to be remembered for the countless lives that you impacted for the short time that you were alive. I know which of the two I prefer.
No, I’m not saying that making a resume is a bad thing; I’m going to continue working on mine. But this is just a frank reminder to myself, and to anyone else reading, that there is much more out there. Many of us are caught up in living in the prospect to make what’s left of our short lives as luxurious and frivolous as possible, when we forget that what we can do in a lifetime, can resonate throughout generations as long as we impact those around us.
Let this be a reminder to myself, not to live for credentials and minute satisfaction, but to live for the sole benefit and pleasure of others. Yes, the time before I die might be only a short time, but if I play my cards right, the life I live will last lifetimes.
I’ll start posting regularly once school kicks in again. See you all soon. God bless.
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