What is the purpose of life? When it came to thinking about what I believe in, I sat staring at a blazing white screen for what seemed liked hours, trying to think about what I, as a moderately average teenage girl, believed in deeply enough to write a whole essay about. A broad, but still focused idea captured my train of thought. I thought about what my entire life had been based upon since being a newborn baby and what the human race had been trying to achieve from the beginning of time.

I believe in learning to love life. To me, this isn't a simple task in which I can just easily defy and achieve. Three ideas come to mind: loving myself, perseverance, and selfishness. All which I have experienced and still go through on a daily basis, as of the fact, I have not completely learned how to love my life.

As a young child, I was branded with the names of “chubby” and “pudgy”, which were all cute and fun in games until I reached middle school. Then the names changed, and so did their meanings. If I can’t love myself , then there is absolutely no point to my life. My take on this is so cliche, but yet so meaningful to truly understand what spurns life and all its essence. Insecurities seemed to fog my entire perception of values. The big picture of my aspiration to be happy would’ve faded away, leaving me to question my existence. I put a plan in action to better myself so that I could truly enjoy life and all its beautiful moments without constantly pulling my tight knitted shirt away from my body, or untagging myself from a Facebook picture, simply afraid of my appearance to others.  Yes I know, we have all grown up with the same idea about not caring what others think about us being constantly tortured into our brains. I look right through this idea and I think others blindly do as well. We all care what people think about us! The real importance is taking what people have to say, and proving them wrong. Because in the end, I’m only going to be happy if I’m happy with myself.

If I were asked what has helped me the most throughout my life, I would say persevering. It doesn’t only help me get by on a day to day basis, but it also sets forth my infatuation towards life. When we truly develop the concept of perseverance, we understand that everything won’t be butterflies and rainbows. Accepting this is everything. What we go through only make us stronger human beings. Looking back at my life, I stand proud of myself for maintaining composure at such horrific times. When I was 7 years old, my mom unexpectedly passed away. Everything I had ever known seemed to change. New house, new school, new friends, new everything. I wish to be like the old me, because what I did is what this whole essay is about. I learned to love life again by preserving and seeing the greatness in every little thing around me, instead of seeing what had been the biggest downfall to my entire life.

I can see the parents stretching from all the way around the globe, as well as most adults, shunning me for what I am about to say. I think it’s okay to be a selfish person. How are we expected to genuinely love life if we're not doing what we want to do? There is a compromise in what I am saying. I am not proclaiming that I have a vile sole and only think about myself, I am explaining that putting yourself before others isn’t a bad thing. As Herbie Mann says, “Being selfish to me means that you have to look out for yourself and don’t have to sacrifice.” I will not sacrifice my love for life and waste my valuable time on things that don’t matter to me. I’m a selfish person, and I’m proud to say it.

But yet, is it reasonable to say that I can completely love life? Everyone always has the same aspiration to be happy, but is it ever legitimately reached? Every single day, my life has proven to be a challenge. It’s a never ending roller coaster of disaster, disappointment, stress, chaos, and so much more.  Nonetheless, I still laugh every day and stand positive towards my future. I will exceed my three concepts and truly concentrate on loving my life. After all, isn’t that the purpose?