I challenge you to think in great detail about this
question. There are so many historical
events to look back on that forever changed the world we live in today. This is not a simple question for most people. Oddly enough, I can recall the day I
discovered the answer to this question.
There was
not a day that went by that my dad did not have something positive to say about
someone or something that had happened within each day I can remember with my
dad. He was always so positive even in
the moments that seemed tough to swallow.
My dad was what you would call a die-hard Pirates fan. No matter how bad they were doing over the
past 17 seasons he was always looking on the bright side. I guess it’s no coincidence that last season
as the Pittsburgh Pirates were having another semi-promising year at the
midpoint that my dad was updating me text by text day after day even after I
told dad that I really had no interest.
Leave it to dad to be the optimistic fan who knew that the Pirates would
someday play again to the level they once played in the 70’s with his all-time
favorite Roberto Clemente. Just prior to
dad’s passing he was filling me in on how the bucos were on a 9 game losing
streak but they still had their chances to be above 500 with a handful of games
left in the season. The day dad passed,
I sure as heck was not following the Pirates but those who were ever so close
to me were. The Pirates went onto change
their fortune and win the game the day my dad passed, September 2nd,
2011.
Sure the
Pirates fell short of 500 again last season but they are on the rise again this
season. The relevance of the story is
simply in the fact that one can never give up.
The day before I flew to San Diego to take on the semester of a lifetime
was the day I truly knew how to answer, “what is the greatest day in the
history of the world?” I know this
because I wrote mom and dad a letter and hid it so they would not find it until
after I set sail. The letter told them
how much I loved them and respected all that they had done for me in my life
but most importantly that they should know that I will be ok with being half
way around the world from them because I had learned from them that today would
be the best day of my life.
Eleanor
Roosevelt said it best, “Yesterday
is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift; that’s why they call it the present.” Dad’s outlook on life was a choice. He lived everyday like it was his last and
had no regrets. Let today be the best
day of your life!
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