Kristie Ko: On Lessons, Leaving, and Legacies

A few days ago, I considered my feelings about dying and what it would mean for my life to be terminated at that very point. For a change, this wasn't simply the result of a morbidly negative teenage mind with nothing better to occupy her thoughts than fantastical delusions of death and the unknown.

Rather, the extremely realistic whir of several helicopters hovering and the unmistakable whine of multiple police cars in the area enlightened me to the fact that real threats exist and are able to arise at any hour of the day.

Moments later, I found out (via Facebook, no less) that the cause of the disturbance was in fact a bomb threat in the neighborhood. Immediately, violently graphic images of mushroom clouds, nuclear waste lands, and horrendously mutilated human bodies plagued my mind, courtesy of brutal sci-fi flicks that no amount of therapy will ever be able to make me forget.

Intermittently weaved between the images of utter destruction, however, I found myself pondering a more serious question: Am I proud of what I'm leaving behind (whatever that is)?

To some extent, it's a query that dates back to some of the most ancient sayings in the book. "Have I accomplished what I set out to do?" "Will I die fulfilled?" While these questions have been most often linked with older generations, when it comes to the young adults of today, the question must also be posed: What kind of legacy do we want to leave?

Far too often, teenagers have this grand idea that they're going to lead gloriously perfect lives and, therefore, can afford to put off striving for dreams and reaching goals.

While it may seem like an acceptable plan, the truth is that not all of us are going to reach the esteemed age of 120 and accomplish all that we set out to do. And this time, it isn't my own exceedingly pessimistic teenage mind claiming these facts but, rather, reality itself.

If one has a dream, why wait until 30? 50? 90? Tomorrow? If there is a plan, and a passion to back that plan, the next logical step would be to take action as soon as possible. True, this does not necessarily mean that every individual will somehow magically achieve his or her dreams overnight. It doesn't even guarantee that the accomplishment will be achieved in an entire lifetime.

What it does mean is that at any given point in time -- be it bomb threat or real bomb or even lying awake in bed at night pondering life -- you can pay tribute to the fact that you're making progress, advancing a cause and leaving your own personal legacy in the process.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristie-ko/on-lessons-leaving-and-le_b_1107962.html

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