Wikipedia's Recent Deaths Articles
I hope this isn't a touchy subject for any readers at the moment, but I would like to talk about one of my strangest but most enjoyed hobbies.
I really, really like reading about people that have passed away recently. For this year, you can find the article at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deaths_in_2010 I'm sure this might sound sadistic, but I assure you I'm not pleased by the death or pain of others. Actually, a lot of the times, I don't find it grim at all. In fact, I actually find it quite beautiful the way that a person's life story, much like a book, has found it's end. Whenever I am feeling bored or blue, I find myself reading about these individuals whose story's last chapter has just been completed. Somehow, I find consolation and comfort in reading about a person from beginning to end, like indirect mentoring and lessons on what worked and what didn't. The ways in which these people pass away are as diverse as the people themselves. Some pass away from natural causes, some by disease, some by accident, some by causing it themselves. But no matter what, it's always the same thing: someone is born and then they die. There is no way around that. I guess the only thing I really get out of reading these is a feeling of reinforcing the importance of being able to do what I want while I'm in this world. Something in my gut just doesn't feel right when I read about someone who had pending business before they passed away. When I read about Jack Tatum, I learned about a fellow Purdue alumnus, Darryl Stingley, who was paralyzed from the waist down after a hit from Tatum and passed away before reconciling with Tatum. I guess situations like this make me reinforce that I want to live a life of peace and love. And that honestly starts right now. Learn to accept anyone and everyone, and forgive anyone that does something to hurt you immediately and repeatedly. Reading these articles also makes you realize that society completely amplifies the importance in the age at which you pass away. What difference does it make if you die at 20 or 70 and never find anything that you want to dedicate your life to? I've recently started listening to songs from the Lit album "A Place in the Sun," when Allen Shellenberger was still alive and banging the drums. I guess it's unfair to say that I knew what was going on in his mind when he was playing this song, but I also don't know many musicians who are in it for the money. From this, I realize that any second I spend on something I don't genuinely care about is a second wasted. Love and laugh with your family and friends, and find something that you would die for. I guess the other thing that I really love to read about is achievement. I feel like this stems from passion, but is reached with immense amounts of work and effort. But anyone whose article starts with "Sir" or has "gold medalist" in their one-sentence biography usually warrants a click. Similarly, anyone who passes away doing what they love doing (easily spotted when the individual's cause of death seems to have occurred doing what is written for the person's one-sentence biography) almost always warrants a click. This serves as mere inspiration for when I begin that passion-driven life's work, which, unfortunately, I've yet to find, though I feel like I'm getting close. I want to thank all of the people who's lives, in their entirety, have helped me to come up with a rough sketch on how I want mine to be shaped. Hopefully when I'm gone, I will have a good story to inspire others. Love unconditionally, find a passion and make it yours. I can't imagine any possible bad ending to my story called "life" if I can only do this.
