Im going to die one day. Im relatively certain youre going to as well. Theres worse things I guess; just dont ask me what. Im not a philosopher, and you dont have to examine my writing closely to see that every other word I write doesnt end in -ology or -ogical, so Im probably underqualified to ramble on about life and death. On the other hand, death is almost certainly going to be a lived experience for me, so I might have some authority on the subject. I was given some advice about the inevitability of death recently, so I might as well have a little fun. Pass (it) on, so to speak.

I found myself just standing in a greenhouse, soaking in the beauty around me, wondering whether The Miscellany News office would look less like purgatory if it featured a fern or a nice large hanging plant. Out of the blue, the shopkeeper offered some wisdom that probably only comes from being around fading beauty the wilting flowers, dying plants, the indelible fragility of nurturing lifefor long periods of time: Dont take [yourself] too seriously. Youre going to die one day.

As much as I dont like being reminded of the mortality of someone I actually like, the shopkeeper is dead right. Im not going to pretend to know enough about nihilism to cite Nietzsche (I have enough trouble just spelling it) or have any great insights about life as a mortal, but there is great comfort in the idea of your own death, of finality. The late-night comedian Conan OBrienwhos actually remarkably well-educated and graduated from Harvard University magna cum lauderecalled a conversation with Albert Brooks where Brooks said, In 1940, people said Clark Gable is the face of the 20th Century. Who [expletive] thinks about Clark Gable? It doesnt matter. Youll be forgotten. Ill be forgotten. Well all be forgotten. (New York Times, Conan OBrien Wants to Scare Himself With the New, Shorter Conan, 01.14.2019). I think about that quote a lot. It makes you think about whats actually important. Is it personal or organizational success? Do you want to be the best? Are you driven by the envy of others? All motives are fine if thats what you want to do, but dont do anything just because you think youll be remembered for it.

What you should take away from that quote isnt that nothing we do matters. Instead, understand that if nothing you do will be remembered in the long run, you should try to do the right thing in each and every moment. If you promised to do something, you should do it. Not because it matters but because nothing else matters either. Maybe its because Im poor and not exceptionally successful, but all I have is my word, and if I dont have that, then I have nothing left at all. If you have no reason to do wrong, if you have nothing to gain because youre going to die and nothing matters, why not just do the right thing?

I honestly think Vassar would be a better place if more people thought this way. Forget about your legacy, what youll leave behind. Help some people, bite off more than you can chew, make mistakes and try again. Live life to the fullest because this life might be all you get. Stop worrying that youll look silly or if someone will think youre unserious. Listen: You can still be successful, competent and reliable without taking yourself too seriously. You can still be a good student even while realizing that its absurd that youre trading pieces of paper (tuition) that you dont have (student debt) for words (lectures) from people who write fan fiction about the gay brother of a Russian migr. This is a real thing that happens, and its hilarious on so many different levels. If you cant be a little un-serious, a little silly, youre wasting the humor that surrounds us all the time. Youre wasting your own life, and do you have a resource any more precious? I certainly dont.

This isnt the only reaction that you can have to the news that youll die. You could also go down the route of burning, looting and pillaging, being evil for evils sake. Thats a reaction, I will admit, but I hardly think thats a good way to go about things. For one, its not universally applicable. Screwing over everybody else to get ahead might work in the short run, but I cant advise you to do that because then its just detrimental to everybody. Closing the elevator door on somebody can really give you a strong feeling of satisfaction, but if we all start to do that, then everybody is now taking solo elevator rides and everybodys waiting longer too. The whole thing backfires.

So again, to bring it back to the beginning: Im going to die one day. So for now, Im going to enjoy time with people who are important to me. Im going to lie in the sun listening to Eight Days a Week because in the long run, nothing really matters. Theres no reason not to sit back and relax, or even not to try, and Im only going to get older.

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I'm going to die. We are all going to die (But it's fun) - Miscellany News