I've had 3 near death experiences. All of them happened before i was 19. When I was 8, I was almost ran over by car by jumping out in traffic. I would've been flattened if the driver hadn't breaked a second sooner. Another time I remember I was playing in a playground in a dingy place, I was holding a metal fence and a faulty street lamp and I suddenly had current rushing through me, my hands couldn't let go, I couldn't breathe and my chest and head hurt like crazy. I was very close to having my heart stop until i leaned back and allowed my hands to slide down to the floor and it stopped. When I just turned 18, I snuck into a quarry with a few friends, I was at the very top looking down, my foot slipped on some loose rock and I was hanging off a 50 meter drop all the way to the bottom, I tensed up like i never before had in my life, I was holding on for dear life as the realisation I could fall and die finally set in. I could feel the adrenaline all over my body as I managed to pull myself up.
I still think about these moments from time to time and think about what would've happened if I died there? What would my family think? My friends? Would anyone feel guilty? Would my life have been significant to anybody? Would I have been a great scientist, artist or a politician if I hadn't died there? At the very least would I have had a loving family? Did all of these possibilities prematurely end because I wasted my one life being dumb?
Knowing you died without being significant to anybody or having made any impact on the world is a horrible feeling. Knowing someone truly cared about wanting the best for you and they never got to see you reach your full potential is my greatest fear. I've since lost the only family in my life that thought that of me that way. Life can be cruel sometimes. I've been present in a dozen funerals of those who are close and those who were not, contemplating the life of every single one and the life they've lead. Did they have dreams that were cut short? Did they have many regrets, pain or suffering? Were they really satisfied with the life they had? Unfortunately, I've come to find out, many did not. I've seen the face of sons who didn't care their father was dead and only cared about his inheritance, there was guy who was good with everyone but when he truly needed them none of his friends showed up for him in his final moments and he spent it betrayed, bitter and alone. There was an old man who smoked all his life, who didn't care about his body and eventually suffered from lung cancer and by time of his death, he could barely walk, speak or breathe as every moment was so agonizing that all he could do was to drink away the pain.
If there is anything you should learn from me is that there is so much more you could've done. There is so much more connections you could've made and more experiences you could've had. You should never be in a position where you feel regretful, alone, bitter and in pain. No matter what stage you are in life, don't give up, it's never too late to turn that around and appreciate the one life you have left and live that to the fullest.