Tuesdays with Morrie: Week of 4/27/15

     Surprisingly, the 'Tuesday' that has inspired and had the most impact on me, as well as the 'Tuesday' that I could relate to the most was the Tuesday where Mitch and Morrie discuss death.  There were two quotes in particular from Morrie that, coinciding, had one of the largest impacts of the whole book so far on me.  Morrie first says, "Everybody knows they're going to die, but nobody believes it.  If we did, we would do things differently."  He then says, "The truth is, Mitch, once you learn how to die, you learn how to live."  As Morrie is dying, as his body is slowly shutting down, he has to face the sad reality that he will perish soon, and he has no control over it.  He has to begin to live in the moment more, as he is losing his ability to move and talk a little bit more everyday, and he doesn't have a lot of time left to live and experience life.  He really stresses the fact that people don't know that they're going to die, that they don't believe it.  I can find lots of truth in this, as when I was younger, it seemed like I would live for as long as I wanted; I could stay healthy, right?  There would be no reason for to die, except for old age, but I figured that I probably wouldn't die until I was like, 100 years old anyways!  Though, as I got older, I began to be exposed to more ways that I had the possibility of dying by.  I could get cancer, be the victim of a shooting, get in a terrible car accident, crash in a plane, drown in a lake, etc.  I began to realize that living to 100 years old, was kind of a long shot, and I'm not sure if this is a bad or good thing, but I began to live in fear.  It could be seen as a good thing, because now I'm fully aware that something could kill me at any point in my life, and I would have no control over it, and this would really push me to live life to fullest now, instead of waiting until I got a little older to live my life.  Though, it could also be seen as a bad thing because you shouldn't live with a constant fear of death, as then you won't be able to live your life to the fullest.  When Morrie addressed the topic of death, and explained how you can only live once you learn to die, it had a great impact on me, reminding me that I need to live in the moment!

     This chapter really inspired me to live my life a little bit more adventurously, and the topic of death in this chapter, I feel, is important to read because of this.  You don't need to have a terminal illness like Morrie to actually live life to the fullest, you just need to realize the possibility that you could die at any time, not to scare yourself, but to inspire yourself to do as much as you can while you're on Earth!  That's what this chapter really inspired me to do!  I need to start taking advantage of all of the incredible things that have happened to me, and all of the wonderful experiences I have.  I have to keep pushing to soak up everything I can, before I can't soak it up any longer!  I need to start appreciating everything I have because I feel like I don't enough, and one day, I won't have it anymore!  One day, I might not have my mom or dad anymore, and until I made myself realize that, I didn't appreciate them and all they do for as much as I should've!  I have to not only live life to the fullest, but live a life full of appreciation and love for people that I will leave when I die!  This chapter centered around death has really made me think even more about how I'm actually going to die one day, I'm just going to stop berating, and I will be gone from the Earth, and I need to start living my life with more adventure and love and risk, before I can't!

     Another quote from Morrie in this chapter also really inspired me, and it is when he talks about sleepwalking through life.  Morrie explains, "Most of us all walk around as if we're sleepwalking.  We really don't experience the world fully, because we're half asleep, doing things we automatically think we have to do."  This quote made me realize that a lot of the time, I myself sleepwalk through life, without even noticing it!  I just follow the same routine everyday; wake up at 6:00 a.m., go to algebra class, go to school, go to musical rehearsal, go to dance practice, stay up late doing homework, go to bed, repeat!  I'm always rushing around that I don't notice the finer details that life has to offer, those that make life truly beautiful and special!  Though, I don't notice them because I'm too physically and mentally exhausted from long days of the same old thing, and making this realization, thanks to Morrie, has inspired me to live a little bit differently.  I don't want to look back at life, and think, where did the time go?  I want to look back and know that I got everything I could out of every single opportunity I received, every place I went, and everything I had!  I want to begin noticing more, and being on myself more when I go into "sleepwalking" mode!  This chapter from Tuesdays with Morrie has really inspired and impacted me in so many different ways, especially the quotes I talked about from Morrie!