What Is The Meaning Of Life?

3 Pages 705 Words

“It doesn’t matter if you stay in camp or fight-
In the end, everybody comes out the same.
Coward and hero get the same reward:
You die whether you slack off or work.
And what do I have for all my suffering,
Constantly putting my life on the line?
(Homer, 169)
Achilles spoke these apathetic words thousands of years ago, and, unfortunately, many people feel the same way today. This is sad because these people are wrong and they are missing out on a life with meaning and worth living. The very act of struggling and persevering for a certain goal is what gives life meaning.
A few years ago, in gym class, our teacher told us that we had to climb an 18 foot-tall, wooden pole, supported by only our peers holding it up. We weren’t required to climb it if we didn’t want to, but I opted to climb it anyways. I remember how nervous I was when it was my turn to climb; my heart was pounding, and my hands were sweaty. I had the chance to back down, but I swallowed my fears and pursued on. The victory of completing the task at hand was much sweeter because I had to work for it. I felt so good, not because I was going for a certain grade, but because I had the choice of whether or not I wanted to climb. Because I chose to climb and overcame my fears, it made me feel completely exhilarated. I was that feeling of working hard and sticking with it finally paying off. It is that very feeling that makes life worth living. When I look back and reflect upon my life many years from now, I’m not going to remember if I got an “A”, I’m going to remember that I did it, I climbed the pole.
When I take a look at my life now, I can see how much I have struggled. My childhood wasn’t the mirror image of most childhoods. I didn’t have two parents at home. In fact, for a while, I didn’t even have my own parents. Up until about age five, a single mother raised me. After that, I was raised by foster parents. There were times that I wa...