To Be, Or Not To Be

I titled this post "To Be, Or Not To Be", referencing the famous opening phrase of Soliloquy in William Shakespeares Hamlet, because in the Soliliquy, Hamlet ponders the meaning of life. He questions whether or not it's worth it to be alive when life is so full of hardships and trials.

Well, this week, I have been helping my husband do his English homework. Frankly, he hates anything to do with reading and writing. So he lucked out because I truly do enjoy English classes and English homework. His teacher gave his class the assignment of finding a problem in their community and writing about their opinions on the subject and how they suggest to fix it. This decision would determine the topic that they will be writing on for the rest of the semester. At first, Luke stared at me blankly like there weren't any problems in the world that he could think of to write about. Then, "People need to change their attitudes."

As we discussed his outline and how he was going to connect personally to this topic, he surprised me. He told me that the three biggest reasons he is walking is because of a lot of prayers, physical therapy, and a good attitude. I then got really excited. This could be a very interesting and moving topic for people to read about. This wasn't going to be your typical, boring English topic like, "my garbage man doesn't pick up my garbage on time," or, "there is too much traffic in this city." No, this would be a real, solid topic that everyone could relate to. Something to help explain Hamlet's soliloquy. Life is DEFINITELY worth living if you have the right attitude about every situation.

I'm really proud of Luke. He worked really hard and this is what we came up with for his first post/assignment on his English blog:

"Change Your Attitude, Change Your Life

My name is Luke Jepson. Two years ago I bought a new truck and my life was forever changed. On my way home from purchasing my new truck I was in a serious car accident which left me paralyzed from the neck down. With the help of intense physical rehab and a lot of prayers, I am now able to walk with the help of a lower leg brace. My paralysis is greatly lessened but I still struggle every day. Among other things, my left hand is still paralyzed and I walk with an obvious limp. This raises some interesting questions for people. I get asked a lot of questions about why I walk the way I do and what happened. 

This does not define me. My definition does not stem from my limitations, or my outer appearance. I am defined by my attitude.The majority of people who go through traumatic events in life become bitter and angry. I use the word “traumatic” loosely.I am not exclusively speaking about those who have become paralyzed. I’m speaking about those who have gone bankrupt, who have lost a loved one, who have received bad news, etc. Life becomes bland and meaningless. In essence, individuals give up and/or become miserable. Our attitudes can either enable us or disable us.

In going through all that I have gone through. I have learned an important lesson. You become your attitude. In all things our attitudes are key. If you don’t feel happy or positive, fake it till you make it. Our lives do have a happy outcome, but we have to make the outcome happy ourselves. We can’t just go with the flow and let events and emotions happen to us. We must take control."