What Would You Regret Not Doing If You Died Today?
I came home today, and I had a very sad email in my inbox. A fellow graduate student had a brain aneurysm on Friday, and passed away on his way to the hospital. I didn't know him at all; he joined the department last year, and I may have met him once. Nevertheless, it is such a shock when someone so young passes away. I guess you just don't expect to hear something like that.
It got me thinking about living in the present... I would like to think I have accomplished a lot but what would I regret not doing if I died now? I mean, there are so many things I hope to accomplish. There are big projects like graduating and getting a real job, buying a house, getting a boyfriend/husband/significant other as well as kids. There are plenty of trips and places in the world I want to see. But there are plenty of smaller things too that I want to do... I want to learn to bake a cheesecake, learn to knit well, jump off an airplane,... I need to revive that long "to-do" list I had.
I guess though it just makes me think though that I don't call my family and friends often enough to tell them I love them and how much they mean to me. I think they implicitly know I do but getting those words out is not always easy. Or rather, I think I (and people in general) get lazy sometimes with being kind to those who are closest to us.
If I had one main regret, it would be not being courageous enough. I often feel I don't assert myself enough. I'm shy and not enough of a go-getter. I mean, I do work for a lot of what I want, but I have a bit of the passive, demure Catholic girl thing going on, especially when it comes to guys. LOL I might be a good girl but as they say "Good girls go to heaven but bad girls go everywhere." So what would you regret not doing if you died today?
posted by Brain Diva at 9:30 p.m.
4 Comments:
I would regret not getting home tonight to tell my husband that despite making me insane, I love him and I missed him, and I want him and us to be happy.
I would regret not getting to see the accomplishments of my children.
I would regret not having anything complete and meaningful written and read by others besides my friends.
There is much more. How sad, I agree. I hate the randomness of such a tragedy like that.
"Or rather, I think I (and people in general) get lazy sometimes with being kind to those who are closest to us."
This is so sad, and completely true. It's so easy to treat strangers kindly... and so easy to treat those closest to us less than. I guess it's because we're not afraid to show our closet the real "us," and we intrinsically know we will be forgiven. But still, we shouldn't do it. We should hold those who have stood beside us through thick and thin in the highest regard. (Awkward sentence, work with me.) They should be treated as the treasures they are.
I used to always say I did not want to die until I at least bought a house. Now I'm freaking out. = 0
Thanks you guys for the comments! :)
Jamie, word on treating others like treasures. Yes, they may drive us crazy at times, but most people are well intentioned, especially when they love us.
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