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| The Right to Die |
Ok here is another college essay but this one was for my Sociology class. Like my last essay I have done a little bit of research. I hope you enjoy this one and leave a comment.
People die all the time. Death isn’t really taken seriously unless it’s someone you know or care about. I found out that exposure to death can have negative and even positive consequences. I’ve lost a mother, a niece, and a nephew. My family and I were stricken with grief and sadness. As you can imagine losing a mother, or anyone for that matter is something you could never even dare think about. Mothers are the closest and perhaps the most important person in the world next to your father. It’s because of them that life is possible. My nephew and niece died when they were only infants. I had felt so bad for my sister and brother in law. Death is inevitable and unpredictable. You think everyone is going to be okay and safe but you don’t know for how long. Along the line of life something bad will eventually happen. Just as life varies throughout history and around the world, death has many faces (Chapter 15 page 408).
The mother who passed away was my biological mother. I’m saying this because I have two moms. I was adopted when I was not even a year old. I still saw my biological parents from time to time. I saw my father more often because my mother was basically the reason why my family was divided. I know I’ve only seen her less then fifteen times. But those few memories I have of her are good memories. My older sister and younger brother have probably been with her countless times and they absolutely loved her. Whenever my father and my mother were close I always felt tension between them. My mother looked so young but I never knew old she was when she passed. It wasn’t old age or a disease that killed her.
It was something much worse. Little did we know tragedy was about to take place. We were about to lose our beloved mother sooner then we thought.
It all happened a few years ago when I was only thirteen I think. All I remember about the date was that it was sometime in the middle of August 2003. My other mother who I’ve been living with picked up the phone one night. All I remember hearing was “Oh my God”. She hung up the phone and sat next to me. She said your mother passed away Jose. Her words didn’t sink in right away. I took a short pause and dared to ask how. She took a deep breath and said, “Someone had broke into your mother’s apartment and strangled her to death”. That is when it really sank in. I got up and walked calmly to my room without a word. I broke down on my bed with sadness, anger, and despair. I hated myself because I was the only person who didn’t see her as often as I should have. I knew my brother and sister probably felt the most pain seeing as they saw her more often. I had felt just as sad for them. I never knew how my father felt but I’m sure he was in just as much pain as we were.
I don’t think there were any really negative consequences except the temporary sadness and depression we all felt. The positive thing is that she will always be missed, prayed for, and remembered. During that time I had thoughts of suicide but I quickly regained my sanity and common sense back. The death did change my whole outlook on life. I started to appreciate and love more. Since she was killed by a cruel and heartless person it did make the pain and anger unbearable. I still have regrets of not seeing her as much as I could of when she was still alive. When I went to the wake I didn’t know what to expect because it was my very first time seeing someone I loved dead and motionless. I wanted to cry but I couldn’t. I was too petrified to cry. I was scared of seeing her dead and only a few inches away from me. I was so scared I could barely pray for her. I couldn’t think straight or concentrate on anything else. Having a strong and loving family helped me heal over time and get through my sadness quicker. Her name was Evelyn Rivera.
The loss of my nephew and niece wasn’t as bad as my mother’s death. I think my mother’s death made me a little stronger to cope with deaths of others a little better. That doesn’t mean I didn’t feel the same sorrow and pain at their funerals. My sister Stacey lost both a daughter and a son to the same disease. They both died shortly after birth with kidney disease and breathing complications. Seeing those little caskets was just so upsetting and sad. Their names were Emily and Liam Donnelly. Since my sister and brother in law knew that there was a small chance of them living they handled it differently. The deaths made their family stronger. They have two healthy kids named Connor and Anna. Despite their loss no anger was shown. There was just happiness that Emily and Liam are both safe in heaven and a little bit of sadness. Machines were the only things that were keeping their kids alive at that time. Technology gives us the power to prolong life (Page 409, para 5). All I have to say is what’s the point of living if you can’t really live?
This brings me to a debate called the right to die issue. I think the right to die is a personal choice that should be made by the person willing to die. In other words they want to be euthanized. The very definition means assisting in the death of a person suffering from an incurable disease (Page 410, para 4). I never really knew the difference between suicide and euthanasia until now. People who are suffering and barely holding on to life call it a mercy killing. Out of all the states in the U.S., Oregon is the only state that assists in suicide and euthanasia (Page 410 and 411, para 5). The Death with Dignity Act was was made in 1997 by the state of Oregon (Page 410, para 5). I think the only thing worse then death is suffering on your death bed while your loved ones watch in sadness and helplessness. I’ve seen my baby nephew suffer and it was so heart breaking that he never had a good chance to live. If death means eternal peace then I see no reason why not to let go. You can always love someone forever no matter where they are. Dead or alive they are still in your mind and heart. If it was suicide it would be a different story because if nothing was physically wrong with them I’d want him or her to live. Being around death has taught me that I’m not that important and I should put other people’s needs first. No matter how crazy it sounds I have no problem with it.
Everyone I’ve lost turned me into a better person with a new look on life. Yes they were the sadist moments in my life but I got through them. I wasn’t the only person that was strong when I lost three family members. Family and friends united to show love and support in a time of need. Reflecting isn’t always fun when you’re thinking about sad memories. Positive and negative consequences are all a part of death. I could have gone out to seek vengeance on my mother’s killer but I didn’t. Vengeance is a road that leads to no where and some see it as pay back. The most positive thing you can do is letting go. As for the right to die I still think it’s for the best to let people who are suffering go.
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Posted by Jose007 on 2009-07-01 00:47:59 | Rating: | Views: 53
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