Saturday, January 12, 2013

RIP Alice Pyne

About two years ago, I learned about British girl Alice Pyne from Blogger recommended blogs. She was a teenager battling with a bone cancer that was terminal, meaning that her life was inevitably going to be cut short. Instead of waiting in front of the calendar and counting down the days, Alice decided to create a "bucket list," which were things she wanted to do before she died. Through her blog, Alice's Bucket List, Alice chronicled her current condition and things that she was able to complete from her list, such as meeting "Take That," go whale watching, and encourage everyone to join a bone marrow register and create a bucket list.

Unfortunately, after surviving past her point of survival, Alice's life here on Earth came to an end. It is incredibly saddening news to see somebody die prematurely, before they had the opportunity to excel in a career, find a loved one, and create a family. While death was inevitable for Alice after realizing she had bone cancer, the fact that she spent the last months of her life accomplishing everything she wanted to before she died was an example of what all of us should make the effort to accomplish throughout our lives. The key difference is that we potentially have the time to do so, but at the same time, tomorrow may never come.

A popular acronym that's been going along is YOLO, which stands for "you only live once." This statement is correct, but very often practiced incorrectly. Plenty of people interpret YOLO as an excuse to party and drink to excess, to the point that you become so drunk that you develop a severe hangover. That's a negative way to practice YOLO. What Alice did was define how YOLO should really be practiced. It is true that you only live one life and you are supposed to live that life to the fullest, regardless of the circumstances you are born into or the hurdles that are thrown at you as life progresses. Alice's life was limited, but she didn't let the things that she could do with that time limit what she could do with it. The fact that you only live once means that you should accomplish everything you can when you have the opportunity to do so, because that life could be limited or come to an end at any time. We need to be thankful that we have been given the greatest gift we could be given and that the gift of life. The fact that we are living provides us with the opportunity to do something with ourselves or perhaps provide an example that others may be able to follow, just like Alice. The gift of life is our platform. What we do with it is totally up to us.

My condolences, thoughts, and prayers go out to Alice Pyne's family. While we may have lost a fellow blogger, Heaven has gained another angel. RIP, Alice. Your posts were always fun to read and your strive was just incredible. You were surely be missed.

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