Lying on my back, hypnotized by the roar of the waves, one hand toyed with the sand, while the other lay still on my chest. I quickly grew accustomed to the repeated noise brought about by the crashing of the waves, a noise all too familiar to me. The naturalness of Bob Marley coming from my speakers and the scent of sunscreen, or to me the scent of summer, always made me feel at complete ease, but today it was far greater than that. Not only did I feel ease; I felt a sense of reflection. I gained a perspective I never even thought was there, one that would change the way I perceive life itself.

After attempting to tan, I decided a quick dip into the coolness of the crystal blue ocean was necessary. I began to slowly make my way from my sand covered beach towel to the edge of the simmering sea, watching my footsteps unfold beneath me. I continued to look at my footsteps because something about them seemed different to me, I knew something was going to change. As I approached the glassy ocean water, passing over a variety of different shells and piles of seaweed, my footsteps began to disappear as the water washed them away. I looked back to see those that remained and those that had diminished, and something snapped in my head, like two pieces of a puzzle.

The footsteps, in my mind, at that moment, were not merely just footsteps. Each footstep could be seen as a representation of life, and the waves the unpredictability of death. Every time I moved forward a new footstep was begotten, but every time a wave swept through it was erased. The waves were like the unexpected bullets life tries to shoot us with; and sometimes we will dodge the bullet, but at one unforeseeable moment in time we will all be hit. This was the day I realized the importance in the fact that life is unpredictable and its end is indeterminable. I have always feared the day my life would come to an end, but this day I realized there was nothing to fear. Watching an elderly couple leisurely stroll down the beach, hand in hand, with no fears but hearts full of love and joy gave me hope. Hope in a bright future, one that I will direct and produce. A future that will be completely determined by my wills and passions, one that I will not let escape me.

Submerging into the spellbinding sea, I rinsed the sand from my feet and soaked my hair. Under the water, I thought about my previous reflection. I swayed with every passing wave, holding my breath for as long as I could. Touching the soggy sand covered sea floor, I realized that once your footsteps are erased your past ones are still left there. Your previous footsteps, those the waves will never get the chance to erase, are the mark you leave on this world. Because once you’re engulfed by the immensity of the ocean, or the idea of death, all that is left of you on this planet is what you did in your past. If your past is all that is left of you after your death, you have to make your future count. This reflection, or difference in perception, is a lesson I can never unlearn. This will be a lesson that will be engraved in my mind for as long as I live.

Breaking through the clear surface of the water, I began to catch my breath. Searching the horizon for my towel and belongings, I saw the current had taken me to the right. I pushed against the force of the oceans current and ran toward my belongings. Jogging past an array of footsteps, all varying in size, made me reconsider my life and how I was living it. In that moment I realized that life is too short to let your dreams go unaccomplished, or your desires go unfulfilled. From that day forward I wouldn’t let life fly by me, I would be its pilot.