Death and Dying

Death and dying is a sensitive subject for most and it is more frequently talked about at my family dinners than most would be comfortable with. I myself am not a religious person at all nor are my two brothers and I suppose my non-religious parents are to blame. We don’t attend church regularly, mostly because my parents believe as long as they lead a noble and good life surrounded by friends and family that they are living a good life; a notion they have undoubtedly passed down to me. But it is this same lack of religion that makes us debate time to time on what happens when a human being passes. Although no obvious conclusion is ever met, we as a family do agree on the same thing every time. Lead a good life, make people happy, help others and do the right thing (or the wright thing in our family). It is these notions that have pushed me to pursue a career in health care; I want to help people. I know that might make you think I only want the career to fulfill my feeling of self-righteousness or to feel worthy but you would be totally wrong. This was just the way I was raised whether there is a god overhead watching my moves or not. We are all on this planet together and I think we should all care for one another and the way I hope to do so is through the field of healthcare. It makes me realize that what happens when we die isn’t all that important, it’s what we do while we are alive that counts. When Professor Liberman wrote about speaking to his son about coming to visit his grandma one last time I could definitely relate. I lost my grandfather about a year ago and my dad had to deliver a similar phone call to me. I listened and got the chance to see my grandpa one last time before he passed the day I left for Orlando to return for school. No matter what you believe happens when you die or how you feel about it, when you experience a loss that close it hits you, and hits you hard. I can’t stress enough how important it is to stay close with and communicate with your loved ones.