Is there really any way to prepare oneself for death? Perhaps it’s easier for those who believe in an afterlife; it’s not an ending of life–it’s only a disruption.

I don’t share that same belief. Death is sudden, crude and curt. Even as a rational person, I can’t wrap my mind about ceasing to exist. But maybe that’s for the better.

For me, the past months have been full of loss. From the passing of high school friends, college colleagues and revolutionary executives, it becomes hard to handle.

Furthermore, it raises questions of semantics. Is there a purpose to the life we live? Or is our existence merely futile?

I prefer to hypothesize for the former. Still, the intricacies of my personal definition change every day. Experience shapes us with every emotional invocation, both joyful and tragic.

For me, I focus on people. Even if an action is small, I try my hardest to remain outwardly perceptive. How could I make today better for a stranger? Before I say this, what would my friend think? Am I doing all that I should be right now?

It just seems that with all of the world’s tragedy and injustice, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. How do we retain hope when every newspaper has a window into suffering?

The answer, unfortunately, is not a clear one. It’s one that requires much introspection, much thinking about difficult quandaries and the willingness to feel and get hurt. But this is what makes us better. This is how we grow.

On death, I try to view it as an invitation to the life that I want; to realize that our time on this planet is too short to strive for anything less than fulfillment; to appreciate life’s challenges, but take the occasional moment to lie on a bench and stare at the stars or play piano in a dark, solitary room.

Life is too short to stop pretending. Apparently, when growing up, most have lost their sense of fantasy. It’s a travesty; the worlds of our mind’s eye create possibilities with infinite possibilities and without ideological restrictions. How selfish are we not to access them because we put on suits in the morning?

Life is too uncertain to not tell that person you love them, before it’s too late. A trusted confidant could quickly become nothing more than a story and a picture.

Put simply, life is an inexplicable process that we try to understand as best we can. But when paradigms are shattered, it’s up to us to pick up the pieces. We only gather what we know, what we feel and what we believe to push forward.

In essence, I challenge us to not take our individual journeys for granted. But further, I charge us to not only be reminded of our mortality and temporal nature only by the passing of those close to us. Sources of passion, be them in nature, companionship or a personal endeavor, should make us thrive to achieve our purpose — whatever that may be..

Andrew Pinkowitz is a sophomore majoring in financial consulting and Spanish with a minor in communication studies. He can be reached for comment at [email protected]