ethangwang.

Life is short, as everyone knows. But when I was a kid I didn't know what this meant. It was one of those quotes you kind of just shrug in agreement and continue skipping along with your day. But like many quotes, you don't know what to do with them until you experience them.

No, I've not been in any life threatening car crashes. No, I've not seen anyone die when I was younger, but I have done things I didn't want to do(study useless subjects, doomscroll, work to get a job). Which probably doesn't seem as dangerous as a car crash, but I'd like to argue that it's worse than dying.

Everyone knows life is short, but not a lot of people care, much less, do anything about it. They'll say that they'll go on that Japan trip after graduation, find a wife after they've "made it" in life, start that local coffee shop after they've made enough money in corporate to comfortably retire, and all of this makes sense, until we remember the three words of doom: life is short.

Because the reality is you could die tomorrow. No, you could die today. Now I'm not sure how that might happen, but it does beg the question: if you died today, would you be happy with the life you've lived?

If you were supposed to travel the world, but now you can't because you died while working for a promotion, then maybe you would've taken that chance to go on holiday and experience the world for a little bit.

If you wanted to find a wife, but now you can't because you died trying to make the money to spoil her, then maybe you would've accepted meeting someone in an imperfect time of life.

This isn't to say make rapid and wasteful selfish decisions with death always in the rearview mirror. The saying life is short is a chance for you to reevaluate if you're doing what you want to do right now.

Relentlessly prune bullshit, don't wait to do things that matter, and savor the time you have because life is short.

~ Ethan