SOMEBODY

Mark Twain once said, "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

These seemingly profound words, although a dime a dozen today, have affected my life in more ways than imaginable. I've lost count of the many times I've referred back to the premise of these words. Create something of your own life and fear not the failure, nor the lurking troubles and misfortunes you may face. Although we all face our own troubles and though some are born into immense poverty, we can all eventually pave ourselves a successful future. Just as the story of the young African inventor William Kamkwamba, who found a love for electronics after a crippling famine forced him out of school. In what would seem like impossible circumstances, or at the very least, rare circumstances, he was able to harness the wind through turbines he'd created from scraps, which powered appliances for his family. This inevitably gained him much attention from his village and eventually the entire world. To him, what was small goal turned into something much larger than he could have possibly ever imagined.

You only have to start small and eventually what you love will grow. If you water it like a seed and give it your full attention, as anything gains momentum, so will your dreams and desires.

These words, poetic in their execution, have propelled me into a life I am continuously mystified by, one that always challenges me and pushes me to my limits. I now scrutinise my entire existence and my daily goings on, purely to have the most out of one day. I urge myself to achieve my best in every endeavour, and when failure inevitably hits, to which it has more times than I can remember, I refer back to the first line, "Twenty years from now." In twenty years will I be upset by my failures of today? Absolutely not, I'll celebrate the wins of tomorrow. Although I'm no where near the attainment of the goals I've set for myself, I know that with every small step and every sunrise, I've pushed just that little bit closer to their achievement. Of course it doesn't end there. After those goals have been met, there will be more as purpose shifts and moulds as time goes on. To where this will lead me, I'm unsure, but what a fulfilling life it must be to continuously move forward.

They say the graveyard is filled with countless ideas and inventions that never saw the light of day, and what a sad reality that is. I don't fear much in this world, but one thing that is unimaginably terrifying to me, is the thought of reaching the last bed I will lay on and knowing I didn't try hard enough. I want to be able to look into my grandkids eyes, just as my late grandma did to me, and be able to tell them with pure honesty that I have absolutely no regrets.

As far as we know, we only get one shot at this life and most certainly this body. Our soul may live forever, but the impression we make in this life will also live for eternity. So why try? Because the impression we make on others and what we give back is of utmost importance, it may not be me or you and our friends that make the most impact, but you may be responsible for lifting up that person who changes the world. Just as Mark Twains words affected me, your words and actions can, and most certainly do, affect others.

I want to be remembered.

Why? I think the better question is why not?