Why? Is a question that can be repeatedly asked followed by endless responses. Finding purpose over something was what motivated me. There was a fine line between what I valued vs what I didn’t. However, it was that early Sunday morning right after church where I leaned my head against the car window and asked myself what’s the purpose of waking up just to never wake up at the age of 100+ with nobody remembering you. That thought left little meaning on what I would do to get by. Just to live once and end up as a name carved into the other billion of stones on the earth. 

      I asked my father what motivated him to get through his days. He responded with, “we live to serve god”. Dissatisfied with his religious response, I asked myself, why try so hard in school when I won’t even be here in ten decades? This thought lingered throughout my school years til that heated afternoon where the blob in the sky pierced through my skin. 

      I had tried to look ahead but my eyes responded with a squint. Immediately, I was greeted by a sudden chill as the Costco employee let my family and I through the entrance. 

Isle 15 was always my target. It was to rush there for that good forty bottles of water for $3.99. Following that, I circled the store for another fifteen minutes. By that time, my parents had been all set with their groceries and we headed over to the checkout. 

The beeping echoed in my ear as I set the food on the conveyor belt. I gazed over and noticed a mother with her two sons who had their eyes locked on their phones. She had bought them a bag of Doritos along with a full cart of groceries. I saw her strained eyes as she put her hand over her two son’s shoulders. A moment of emotions rushed through my mind and I felt my eyes watery a bit. I gaze up and I see my dad’s somewhat bald head in front of me. I've always known he had patchy hair loss but I noticed the glimmer reflected on him. I looked back to the time where just five years ago there was no trace of that bald shine. A bit of worry and realization rushed through my mind and I didn’t want his warm hug to go away in fifty years. At that instance, I knew I had to fulfill my aspirations and follow the successful path I needed to go down in so little time.