Many, call it luck or fate, will consider their lives successful if they live to see a certain age. The following story is that of an individual who was born with AIDS and struggled with his own mortality at each step of his life. Despite his shortcomings he still managed to find success in life by getting up the morning after falling down.
As I set off for school one morning, I felt like I had no purpose in my life. Looking back over my shoulder at my house as I walked away from it for the last time, all I could think about were the things that were not yet accomplished; all of what was left undone. It seemed impossible that this would be my final day alive...
I am a junior in high school and I have achieved above average grades each year. I have had the misfortune to be born with HIV/AIDS. Although my physical health is at its best, my mental health is lacking greatly. In the past years due to stress and failure, I have contemplated suicide numerous times. For example there was a time during 8th grade when I stood on the ledge of a building thinking about jumping off into the abyss below. That night when I fell asleep, I had a dream in which my life flashed before my eyes; it covered everything from birth to the present day and most importantly it covered all of what was left undone.
In my dream I was walking through the beautiful, vivid greens of a forest. Everything was perfectly calm and peaceful, except that there was a storm brewing on the horizon. The thunder and lightning continued to charge across the sky; clouds rolled in like giant water balloons. It didn't take long for the rain to fall, but when it did, it fell like hail. The temperature dropped rapidly as I stood there staring at my hands clasped together in front of my chest. Though they were shaking with cold I knew right then and there that I had to pick one goal and hold firm to it at all costs; if not for myself then for the life of everyone around me.
The next scene showed my body lying there on the grass in the rain. The rain pounded against my face like a thousand drums, yet I felt no pain. The life continued to flash before my eyes which was now filled with a multitude of details. It showed me in that same forest where I had been walking just moments before, but this time the sky was not cloudy and the wind did not blow. In that moment, I realized that my dream had come true; all of it was exactly what I had in mind for myself and for everyone who cared about me.
I'm not sure whether I had a purpose in life, but I know now that my purpose was to set an example for my family and friends. That example is to always do the right thing no matter how hard it may be.
If any of my words inspire even one person out there then I will feel as if all of my trials had been worthwhile. That dream which has haunted me for so long seems like a distant memory; it will always remain a part of me, but only as a reminder that there is more to life than just living for the moment.
My name is Greg and this is my story...
I am in a room filled with crying children. They are there because they have lost the battle of their lives. Every one of these children is suffering from the same illness and it will soon be the end for them all. Each day that goes by, each hour that ticks away, more and more of these innocent lives will be taken until only a few remain...
My name is Greg and I have lived with AIDS since birth. I have spent my life fighting this disease and have even outlived all expectations that doctors had given me going into it as a newborn baby. A lot has changed since then, as has my outlook on life itself.
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