We as humans often measure our lives with intelligence instead of knowledge and moving forward, never taking a step back or even looking back at what our lives amount to. If we did, most of us would not like what we saw. That’s a reality people tend to realize a little too late. We try to decide the content of our lives and the quality of the way we lived them. Sometimes we aren’t growing, but being crafted. We are made and created into a system of boring people with boring lives, who raise somewhat boring children. But it’s not our fault.

When people contemplate or are simply asked to contemplate life, the length and depth of it scares most people, in fact it terrifies some. A gentle song with deep lyrics could change the way you approach your life, for me, that was “I Lived” by OneRepublic. This song is about how we measure the quality of living. But more importantly it’s about being afraid that your life isn’t interesting enough for the standards that aren’t ours. Simple existence is not enough, not being satisfied with the fullness of my life is something I’ve been afraid of for a while. People are appraised for the lives they live because we think their lives are better than ours. As a society we are taught something and then given false momentum to be sent out into the world before we even know what that means.
For me, this song represents what I haven’t done and wish I could. We shouldn’t measure our lives just yet. We are living and that is something many people take for granted, times of change and confusion cause people to forget themselves and their dreams. The lyrics helped me want to change the way I live, to have no regrets and to always decide I want the best for myself. The song sings, “Hope when you take that jump, you don’t feel the fall,” the lines that talk about having no regrets mean something more to me. Even when you are falling, even when it doesn’t look good, live in the moment and always enjoy it. When I went on one of my many traveling adventures, Las Vegas was scary and exhilarating at the same time. When I got the chance to do something even more scary than traveling there, zip-lining through the strip, ten stories above the crowded ground, I did it. It wasn’t as scary as I thought it was going to be. As I was up there, I remember thinking I will never, ever regret this moment. When they say the words “Hope that you fall in love, and it hurts so bad,” they mean that we need to feel everything, even the bad. This also says that when we hurt, it makes the good times better, more alive.

The song sings, “The only way you can know is give it all you have,” to me this is one of the most important parts, throughout your extraordinary life remember to give everything you have, you won’t regret it. The chorus is the best explanation to why I’m writing this, it sings,”I did it all” “I owned every second that this world could give, I saw so many places, the things that I did. With every broken bone, I swear I lived.” These deep lyrics I feel are just someone's’ thoughts, but that every single person has this dream. To be remembered, to have a interesting life and to truly own every second, because we don’t know when our lives will end, but we know that it’s not right now and for that we must be thankful, to spend it without regrets or fear. I want to see the world and explore every ounce of life. This song has helped me see that I want to live my life to its full potential, to never let anyone else tell me how to live because they have their own to be living. And so I ask you, have you lived?