I barely remember my childhood – what I do remember is mostly images, sensations, and snapshots in time. My brain has filled in memories around stories I’ve been told by people, pictures I’ve seen, and the things I myself recorded.
I know that memories fade naturally over time, but my first truly clear memory is why everything prior is so foggy, and why I know I can answer this question.
When I was an adolescent, I went to school one day, like a normal child. I went through the day, from homeroom, through my classes, had lunch, gym class, chatted with friends – it was a normal day.
Except for one thing…
On days I didn’t have extracurriculars (like choir or play practice), I took the bus home. On those days, I’d be at school much later, and be driven home by a friend.
On this particular day, I wasn’t staying late, nor was I taking the bus home. Instead, I was being picked up by my mother when school let out. She was waiting across the street from the school, where all the parents parked.
After my last class that day, which was gym, I changed out of my uniform into regular clothes, then joined the group of kids walking across the street to meet their parents. The crossing guard signaled for us to walk, and we all started to go in the crosswalk.
And then there was a commotion. Someone shouted something, and the kids started to panic. Someone grabbed at me and started to pull, but someone else accidentally jostled me free. Then, there was a loud scream a millisecond before I had a chance to react to a large, black Mercedes slamming into me at 35MPH.
Unfortunately, I don’t remember the exact sequence of events that occurred, but according to the trauma on my body and the witness statements that back it up, my lower body was impacted, and then I twisted to attempt to protect my face as much as I could with my hands. It didn’t help, much
There wasn’t a part of my body that didn’t get affected.
And yet, for all of that, if the car had been going a little faster, if that person hadn’t pulled me as out of the way as they did, if we hadn’t been so close to the hospital, if the doctors hadn’t been so amazing, if, if, if – I would have died that day.
When you have an experience like that, at any age, it changes you. I don’t know how else to explain it other than you are suddenly on “gifted” time. The “if I were hit by a bus tomorrow” scenario is real to you – you understand it. You live it.
So, I live every day “as if”.
I find the joy in everything. If I really, truly can’t, then it isn’t worth my time doing.
Originally Posted: https://www.quora.com/Does-anybody-actually-enjoy-life-People-claim-they-do-Sure-there-are-some-great-moments-here-and-there-but-the-unpredictability-relationships-stress-expectations-etc-make-life-a-pretty-crappy-experience-Are-these-people-being-honest
Originally Posted On: 2015-12-31