Realization Of Mortality Essay Research Paper Realization

Realization Of Mortality Essay, Research Paper

Realization of Mortality

Life is a gift that all of us have. Some follow a more

conservatively safe lifestyle while others prefer to walk a

little closer to the edge of mortality. This idea became

clearly evident to me while I was standing in a hospital

trauma room around five years ago.

Growing up in a family where I was considered the

daredevil was somewhat of an honor in view of the fact that

I was second to the youngest. I took up driving tractors and

go-carts when I was only six or seven. If someone was to

challenge one of my friends or me to try something, I would

have great interest in going through with the activity not

acknowledging the realistic danger. I could impress my

older siblings with some risk taking activity that they

probably would not attempt. The one activity that I really

wanted to take up was driving motorcycles, a somewhat risky

activity that is fun but can have brutal consequences.

Ironically, my father was an ER doctor that was trained in a

level 1 trauma unit. He would bring home stories of drunk

driving accidents, farm accidents, and most importantly to

me, motorcycle accidents. He constantly tried to make me

aware of the danger to which I might expose myself if I were

to be careless or ignorant. Yet I was still drawn to

motorcycles, rarely considering the fact that I could hurt

myself. This longing for a motorcycle thrill was about to

drastically change.

My dad called home on a 1995 Saturday afternoon wanting

to talk to my sister and me. He told us to come up to the

hospital to show us something important. On the way there I

didn?t know what to think. I remember talking to my sister

in the car about us having no idea what to expect. My

sister thought that he had a fun and exciting suprise. Upon

our arrival we found out different. His words were,

?Justin, I?m concerned about your safety and the fact that