"I don't want to live in vain like most people. I want to be useful or bring enjoyment to all people, even those I've never met. I want to go on living even after my death!"
-Anne Frank (April 5, 1944)
I first read the Diary of Anne Frank when I was 11. This quote stuck out in particular to me and is something I have always remembered...perhaps because it was exactly the way I felt.
When we read the book in school, boys would laugh at Anne call her "dumb" and "lame." I never called them out on it, because middle school life is all about appearing "cool." But I remember thinking that I felt a sort of camaraderie with her...she was someone I desperately wished I could have met. I felt like she was the only person who ever might have gotten me. I desperately wanted to be assured that might my life was going to matter.
I suppose I still feel that way, only my interpretation of "mattering" has changed a bit. I see now that making my life matter doesn't necessarily mean everyone in the world needs to recognize my name. Helping a child learn to read or helping out a friend in a time of need--this stuff helps life matter too. Contributions don't have to change the whole world, for touching just one can leave a mark :)
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1 comments:
And that is why you and I are friends. :)
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