You know
My time in this world is limited
But the things that I can do with that time
Are not
-Jeb Corliss
I
As I get older
And my perceptions about the world and the world around me
Changes I keep thinking to myself
What is it all for
I have grown up in a lot of ways
Very sheltered and in other ways
Very unsheltered
Like my brother Dustin
My brother Dustin is autistic
And that had caused me to rethink life in a lot of different ways
It had made me think about the future
Not only for my brother but for myself and the rest of my family
And in other ways I have lived such a sheltered life
I live on the Upper East Side of the greatest city in whole wide world
I have a house to sleep in clothes to wear food to eat
I have never really seen anything truly serious (other than my brother)
than compared to the starving children of Afghanistan
or the people living in the slums of India
or South America I even have a computer
where I am able to access the Internet and write my stories onto
I keep thinking what is it all for?
I know that one day I am going to die
I am just going to be another body in the dirt
Another dead body with a story
II
And that is why
In many ways
I am done with high school
I am ready to take what I have learned so far
And contribute to the world
To give back to this great country that is called America
And to thank this planet I call home
I think that is what separates me from my peers
They are thinking where they are going to be in 4 years
I am thinking about where I am going to be 4 years from 4 years from now
That is why on my 18th birthday
I am going to create a bucket list
A list of thinks that I must do before I die
And whatever goes on the list
Cannot be taken off unless it is crossed off
And many of these things on this list will be personal task
Like running a marathon
And an Ironman
Skydiving by myself
And BASE jumping in a foreign country
And many of the other tasks
Will be beneficiary
For other people
Like making sure my brother is as happy as he can be
Or changing someone’s life in a positive way
But this is what I need to do
Because in my opinion there are two ways to satisfy your life
You can either travel the world
Or change the world
And I want to do both
Everyday I wake up and I try to either benefit my life
Or inspire
Other people to benefit their life
Where it is by actually helping them
Or just showing that I can run a mile faster than them
And then they will try to set out
And beat me
If they choose to
That is why is some ways
New York City is the greatest city on earth
III
While New York City
Has a trait where no one bothers anyone else
And everyone minds his or her own business
We are still inspired by the little things that make this city great
Like the bucket drummers on the subway
While there are a lot of homeless men and women in the city
These bucket drummers are trying to make something of themselves
By pounding away and making some money to support themselves
Now I am not saying that all bucket drummers are homeless
And most aren’t
But it always brings a smile to my face
I always pause my music just to listen to them
And their playing and drumming
makes me want to keep going in life
Because if they can do it
Why can’t I?
I wish I had to take the subway to school
And not the stupid bus
Because then I would be able to see all these great sights
And it would inspire me to have a great day
Life is worth living for
And if you just go through the motions
And never try to appreciate it or help other people appreciate it
Then what are you doing?
