다빈_Sophie
Death and myself Today is my first day here :) As a “human being”, we all share the same final destination, which is death. We are bound to die someday, but so many people pretend as if they were immortal, living their lives. Besides, so many people take death as a completely negative thing. However, I believe it should not be taken that way. People should try to take “death” more positively. I remember when I was studying English through the commencement speech made by Steve Jobs, who I respect so much. In front of a large number of Stanford students, he made a very wonderful speech. He said “Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving what is truly important. Remembering you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.”, and this impressed me a lot at that time. Considering he had gone through crucial pancreatic cancer, his remark on death may sound very dramatic and some people think it was merely one of the methods to fear less in the middle of facing death, but healthy people too should remember they are going to die at any time unexpected. Facing death, people can become honest to themselves, and here is the whole point. Remembering we are all going to die is one of the good ways to be honest to myself as well as this world. I really believe so. Sometimes, we worry too much on petty things. We fear too many things. For example, I lack confidence. Some of my friends just apply for any activities that look fascinating to them, but me? I worry too much before I start any activity. I fear what if I am not good at this? What if I am not better than other members? What if I fail? What is the funniest is that I have many pretty hair accessories, but I cannot actually wear them because people might think "She is pretending to be cute!" >_< ;; But now I am going to change myself. I am not gonna compare myself with other people, feeling inferior. I am a wonderful person, and am ready to grab every opportunity that is lying ahead of me because this is my life and I can live this life only once.
Aug 17, 2014 8:21 PM
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Death and myself

Today is my first day here :)


As a “human beings”, we all share the same final destination, which is death.

You're using the plural pronoun 'we', so 'human beings' should be plural. We're all not just one single being, are we? 

 

We are bound to die someday, but so many people pretend as if they were are immortal, living their lives.

They're not looking back and think 'at that point in time, I <em>was</em> actually immortal, but not any more.' Instead, although they might have thought so in the past as well, your point is that they think so right now, and, as such, the present tense should be used. Or did I miss something? 

 

Besides, so many people take death as a completely negative thing. However, I believe it should not be taken that way. People should try to take “death” more positively. I remember when I was studying English through the commencement speech made by Steve Jobs, who I respect so much. In front of a large number of Stanford students, he made a very wonderful speech. He said “Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving what is truly important. Remembering you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.”, and this impressed me a lot at that time. Considering he had gone through crucial pancreatic cancer, his remark on death may sound very dramatic and some people think it was merely one of the methods to fear less in the middle of facing death, but healthy people too should remember they are going to die at any time unexpected.

'Any time unexpected' sounds very poetic to me, and perhaps not the best formulation for this more philosophical text. I'd suggest to reword it to read '... but healthy people too should remember they can die unexpectedly at any time', but I'm sure there are other ways to formulate it as well.


Facing death, people can become honest to themselves, and herethat is the whole point. 

The use of 'here', at least to me, insinuates that the point is somewhere to be found in the physical world, such as in the British House of Commons or in the kitchen. We're not speaking about a physical point, though, but rather an abstract one.

 

Remembering we are all going to die is one of the good ways to be honest to myselfourselves as well as this world.

Again, you're speaking about 'we', and the reflexive pronoun should reflect that. 


I really believe so. Sometimes, we worry too much on petty things. We fear too many things. For example, I lack confidence. Some of my friends just apply for any activities that look fascinating to them, but me? I worry too much before I start any activity. I fear what if I am not good at this?that I am not good enough.

 The sentence is weird as it is; it starts as a declarative sentence and ends as an enquiring one. There are many ways to reformulate the phrase, mine is just a suggestion. :)

 

What if I am not better than other members? What if I fail? What is the funniest thing is that I have many pretty hair accessories, but I cannot actually wear them because people might think "Sshe is pretending to be cute!" >_< ;;

 

But now I am going to change myself.

Just a note here: Traditionally, one could not start sentences with conjunctions such as 'and' and 'but'. This has changed slightly with the years, and it has become acceptable in colloquial settings. However, some people might consider it wrong, and you should try to avoid it completely in formal settings. 

 

I am not gonna compare myself with other people, feeling inferior. I am a wonderful person, and I am ready to grab every opportunity that is lying ahead of me because this is my life and I can live this life only once.

This last part here reminds me of a quote by Eleanor Roosevelt: 'No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.'

It seems like you have a very healthy attitute towards life and death! To me, death is as much a part of life as life itself is. If we celebrate life, why should we denounce death? If we look at Yin and Yang, one cannot exist without the other. Without brightness, darkness would not have existed. Without day, there would be no consept of night. Without sound, there would be no silence. Without death, then, would there be life? 

August 29, 2014
Ana J. That is such a good quote! I really appreciate you for sharing that with me ♡
August 18, 2014
If we were pleased with life, then we should not be displeased with death, since it comes from the hand of the same master. - Michelangelo Buonarroti
August 17, 2014
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