Things One Can`t Live Without - Essay Example

Thankful for Three Looking back at my life to assess what is most valuable to me, I have come to realize that it is not the material things and accomplishments that keep me going. Three things I have learned I could never live without are the true love of my family and friends, my dignity, and the fond memories of lost loved ones. This realization has helped me realize that life is about relationships and principles, and not ambitions and wealth. If I am stripped of my job, my home, and all of my assets, I will still have what is most dear to me – something that can never be taken away –intangible concepts that make me who I am: love, dignity, and memories. Although they do not cost much, they are the invaluable resources in my life that fuel my passion to go on and help me to live my life so that I can bless others the way loved ones have blessed me. Walking out through the front door of my house every morning, I notice there’s one thing that I never have to check my pockets for to make sure I did not leave it behind – the love of my closest family and friends. No matter where I go, it is with me and can never be taken away. The indispensable love of my mother, Rebecca, is foremost in my heart. She has taught me how to love, how to endure, and how to selflessly care for others. Having born me when she was 15 and raising me without a husband, my mom never had it easy. She could have given up many times and let the gravity of her situation make her bitter and resentful, but she made the choice to love and persevere through the hard times. I often marveled at how she kept things together and loved me unconditionally despite all the heartache and trauma I dragged her through at times. The love of my grandparents is another treasure in my heart that strengthens me each day. My grandfather was a great man and like a dad to me, as I hardly even know my real father. And it was my grandmother who taught me how to be strong. She was very firm and laid down the strict rules, as opposed to my grandfather, who was really a pushover. If I was not home by the time the streetlights tuned on, I knew my grandmother was going to give me a very hard time. Also, a few of my friends who stuck with me through thick and thin showed me that love is not about what you can get out of someone but about what you can give. This tough but unconditional love that friends and family showed me through the years is by far my most cherished asset – one which I could never do without. The second thing I could never live without is my dignity. If I were to give up my principles and what I stand for, I would be one shallow and misguided individual. I pride myself in being an honest person who tells and stands for the truth even when it hurts. Because of the example of my mom, I have become a genuinely caring person who invests time and energy in others without expecting reciprocation. Forgiveness is another attribute that I believe I have. Knowing that I have been forgiven much by my family and friends, I see how powerful forgiveness can be and, at the same time, how destructive unforgiveness can be. These three traits are central to who I am, and without them I would not be a dignified person that I always strive to be. Strip my character of these, and I would be like every other felon on the streets living for the moment and for selfish gain with little regard for others or for doing what is right. Lastly, I would not be able to live without the cherished memories I have of loved ones who have passed away. The best times of my life were spent with my grandparents when they took me on vacation with them every fall. I lost my grandmother when I was 14 and my grandfather when I was 27, but both of them still live powerfully in my heart, as each of them gave my life a great meaning and purpose. The memories I have of two dear friends Frank and Ricky, who died of AIDS over a decade ago, will also be close to my heart, as I will never want to forget their struggles and how much they meant to me. The sudden death of my friend Tracy has also forged a permanent fixture in my heart, of which I will never let go. He was struck by a hit-and-run driver in the dark after his car broke down, and the suspect was never brought to justice. He was a lost soul that nobody really understood or liked except for me. Even though I took him in after his parents kicked him out when he told them he practiced homosexual behavior, I still wish I could have reached out to him more than I did, which might have diverted him from coming to such a tragic end. These memories of those loved ones who passed are irreplaceable, and I would not trade them for the world. Now that I took the time to reflect on the three things in my life that are dearest to me, I am able to understand myself better. The true essence of who I am rests in those who have exuded and shown me the godly traits of unconditional love, truth, honesty, and forgiveness. These are much more than abstract concepts; they are all forms of behavior that we must choose to either act upon or turn from, with the former being the more difficult thing to do. The decisions to act in accordance to these concepts build character, and I am very blessed that I had family and friends in my life who demonstrated to me what it means to live a principled life. Therefore, if I were given a shopping cart at the final checkout in my life, you can be rest assured that you’d see at the bottom of my cart a heart symbolizing the love of my closet family and friends, the letter “D” standing for dignity (based on the timeless godly principles by which I chose to live my life), and an album laced with memories of my late beloved grandparents and friends, whom I will never forget. Read More