At this very moment, you are the oldest you have ever been, yet, the youngest you will ever be. It’s what you do with your life, with your age and time on this earth that will make it count. Some people want to get a good job and a big house and live a happy life with a happy family. Others want to live a nomadic life, but what’s the best way to live?

The one who gets a good job and house and family will set their life up for security and comfort. Is that good? Is that the meaning of life, to be safe? Heck no, it’s the one who travels and chooses to challenge themselves to see new things each day that will find more meaning and comfort in life.

Getting married, settling down and having kids as soon as possible is missing the point of life. There is no reason to be eager in this world, no rush to get to an end game. It is not about the destination but the journey along the way. Joy comes from the unexpected twists and turns we have in life.

There is an adventurous spirit that lives within all of us. Humans do not belong in an office, they do not belong working a nine to five job. We must seek opportunities that frighten us, and not let fear hold us back, for fear is just false evidence appearing real.

Fear takes many shapes and forms but it’s fear of the unknown that can scare us the most. There is two ways we can approach fear of the unknown. Either shoo it away like a bumble bee or embrace it. Embracing the unknown feeds our human spirit. Doing something that causes us to be scared creates a more personal relationship between one’s faith and themselves. It’s funny, the closer we are to death and fear, the more we feel alive.

I remember the first girl I asked out in High School. Blonde hair, funny and sweet. But the fear of asking her out was surreal at the time. What if she says no? What if I get embarrassed? What if this and that? I needed to come up with a way to ask her out.

I had an idea where I was going to do a card trick and the card she would end up getting would ask her out. I was nervous, sweating. If I could see my face it was most likely be bright red.

My heart was pumping and I could feel an adrenaline rush come over myself. I tried to speak but the word couldn’t come out so I just said, “Wanna see a card trick?” almost throwing up as I was saying the words. She got the card and the dreadful words came out, “I’m taken.” She already had a boyfriend and I didn’t know.

I was crushed but at the same time felt a great sigh of relief. I walked away with a feeling of euphoria, even though she said no I looked at myself and said, “Well at least I tried and went for it,” and that was more important to me than anything. I did something I was dreadfully scared to do and never regretted it.

Pushing ourselves into boundaries we do not know, in elements that we have not seen will provide us with an experience we will never forget. The meaning of life comes from the experiences and memories we put together in our life by conquering fear. It is our job to give our life the most experiences as possible. Being able to look back and have no regrets.

Bronnie Ware is an Australian nurse who recorded the dying biggest regret, “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.” This was the most common answer received among the dying. This reveals something about human nature and that once we see that it’s all said and done, it will be we things we never did that is the most regrettable.

Find what you want to do in life and go after it. Try new things and discover yourself, your strengths and your weaknesses. Live your life the way you want. It’s pointless to do anything but. Don’t stress what other people do, your family or your friends. Just go out and capture the world for yourself. Love yourself with everything you’ve got and don’t look back.

Quinn Robinson-Duff is an opinion writer for Dakota Student. He can be reached at [email protected]