Make Life Valuable

Do you know how long your lifespan is? If you know your lifespan, how do you spend every day? What if your heart got old ten times faster than other people? We don’t know our lifespan, so, we spend every day without thinking about it, don’t we? I also spend every day without deeply thinking about my life. However, a girl whom I met on the TV program changed my how to think about my life. I got to think about every day of my life. I had been watching a documentary TV program. It was about a girl. Her name is Ashley Hegi. She is no different from other girls. She just has progeria. progeria is a disease. People who have progeria get old about ten times faster than other people. Their bones are weak, and they lose their hair. It is said that one person in eight million gets this disease.

Her way of life changed my way of thinking about life. Ashley knows her lifespan, so she does a thing that she can do that moment. She loves animals, likes to go shopping and has a boyfriend. There is no difference from us. She said, “The thing which is important about life is not the length but how you spend your life”. I was impressed by these words. She is only 14 years old. I thought she has really strong mind. If I know my lifespan, I’ll be afraid of death first. I think Ashley also was, but she said, “I don’t have any memories of being shocked to know that I had progeria. It’s not a big deal, so I don’t think about it”. She thinks the all things positively, and did things she wants to do. I really like her and her way to live. It is said that people with progeria live for about 13 years on the average, but Ashley lived for 17 years. People around her and her strong mind made Ashley’s lifespan longer. I also respect her mother. She let Ashley do everything she wants to do because she knew that Ashley would be unhappy if she worried about her too much and didn’t let her do anything. I think her mother is a one of the best mothers I’ve ever known, and Ashley is a lucky person because she was brought up by her. However, Ashley passed away on April 21, 2009.

Since I enter this university, I met a lot of people, went to many places and experienced a variety of things. Every time I met something and someone new, my heart was filled with gratitude to people who I met. It is important to keep doing something and planning for the future, but I think it is more important to try and do the things which we can do now. No one knows what happen tomorrow, so, we should think about this moment and try to do our best. I don’t want to waste my time. I’ll live life to the fullest every day. I can say that we owe it to ourselves to make the best of our lives. I appreciate to Ashley because she taught me the importance of living in this moment.