YOUNG VOICE
A legacy of glitter stickers
“Class, what do you want your epitaphs to say?”
My elementary teacher carried an optimistic smile when she posed the question. I asked her what an epitaph means and she said that it is an inscription on a tombstone. It reminds everyone how you were when you were still living – your legacy.
At that time, I couldn’t think of any other legacy except for being the pony tailed girl with the most glitter stickers in school.
Several years later, I still am not sure how I would finish the line: Here lies Reylan ….._”
Would I be the best nurse? The discoverer of the cure against AIDS? The first woman on Mars?
Each of us has a goal in this world. I am sure that everyone has come across a moment, thinking how they would be remembered when they die. We want the memories of immortal greatness to be forever attributed to ourselves.
Many have indeed left their permanent imprints, like Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, and Benigno Aquino who left legacies of philanthropy and strength of character.
Martin Luther King combated racial discrimination in the United States of America. Mother Teresa brought hope to the streets of India with her undying love for her fellowmen. Benigno Aquino united the Philippines against a dictator with his outstanding bravery and remarkable faith in the Filipino people. Now, everyone knows his importance with each 500 bill spent.
Many have also imprints that are loathsome. There's the terror under the reign of Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein and Ferdinand Marcos. Adolf Hitler committed genocide, taking away innocent lives of Jews who were to him nothing more than an inferior race. Saddam Hussein wrought havoc with his weapons of mass destruction and sly tactics against countries like Iran and the USA. Ferdinand Marcos took away not just the money but several Filipino lives and his name is synonymous to a dictator.
I have no interest of being branded as either a dictator or a murderer; those legacies were for sure to be excluded from my options. Yet, I can’t imagine myself like the better legacy makers. I can’t see my influence in the global community where I’ll be awarded a Nobel Prize or applauded at a United Nations assembly. But, this won’t stop me from creating my own legacy.
I guess legacies don’t have to be necessarily great, the awards and the praises along side are just bonuses. What matters is, in your own simple way, in the course of your life, you did something that brought happiness not just to your own life but also to another’s. May it just be one person or a crowd of thousands as long as you brought joy to someone other than yourself.
You could be the best mother to your eight children who later on became exemplary responsible professionals. You could be the friend who calmed the broken heart of a girl who broke up with her boyfriend after seven years. You could be the pony tailed girl with the most glitter stickers in school who willingly gives them away whenever a good friend would ask for some.
Simple titles, not so great imprints but still these are legacies that are just equal of importance.
What good is a legacy that is so immense, like graduating as summa cum laude but one was so selfish in helping classmates who were slow learners? What good is a legacy of countless programs and infrastructures for a country but these were built in low-quality materials due to corruption?
Yes, my friends we should all work for legacies that are selfless. We should all work for the legacy of love. With it, I am sure that we will be truly remembered. It doesn’t matter if there are thousands or just ten people who remember, as long as they remember you as someone who made their lives better.
What do you want your epitaphs to say? Leave a mark. Leave a legacy of Love.
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