Here are the responses of Pentucket Students…

“Personally, traveling and exploring the world means life is worth living. The earth was meant to explore and find new beautiful places. Discovering what the world has to offer gives my life meaning and also exploring the elements. I think life is an opportunity to live the way you want and help others along the way.”

• Kate Conover, sophomore

“I think meeting new people is what gives our lives value. When we meet new people, we’re gaining new perspectives and personalities that differ from our own. We get to learn things about ourselves that, on our own, we can’t uncover. Personally, I love meeting new people, whether it is on vacation or in my hometown. With each different person I meet, a new part of me is discovered in my personality. I love how different people bring out different parts of us. In my life, traveling, meeting new people, and growing as a person gives my life meaning. As I grow older, I set more goals for myself and who I want to be. As I travel and meet new people, I learn new things about myself that I didn’t know before. That’s the beauty of life I think. Its uncertainty allows us to find our own path for who we are and strive to become.”

• Anonymous 

“I think the happy moments with friends and family makes life worth living. The good moments. I think the lessons we learn in life make it meaningful. The times in life when things seem bad and then something good comes from it. The idea that everything happens for a reason and that the bad things, in most cases, really are not that deep has always been something very important to me. The things we stress about most times do not really matter because we really are just on a floating rock with billions of other people living different lives. I think life is an experience and that it is important to enjoy it and focus on the happy moments, rather than waste time stressing and trying to figure out the actual meaning of life.”

• Courtney Sylvanowicz, senior

“I think what makes life worth living is the experiences you have and the people you meet.”

• Julia Martins, junior

“Life is worth whatever you make it to be. It is not a one word answer, different people, experiences, and memories shape a person into who they are. People strive to become something, and it is rewarding when you accomplish something that you have been trying hard for. Life is a road, you never know when it ends so you try to enjoy every moment like it is your last. I live for the purpose of my family, success, friends, and just everything. It is a blessing that people take for granted, but the truth is no one really knows where their life is going. Life is a beautiful thing, especially the big opportunity to live.” 

• Anonymous

“To be honest, I don’t know. It doesn’t always feel like it is worth it. I have moments where I stop and think, ‘Wow, I’m so happy I got to experience this,’ but when I really need a reason to keep going, those moments never come. I rely on the memories of my best moments, hoping more will come. I think life is amazing. I am fascinated by the fact that we are all made up of cells and microorganisms working constantly to give us life. I’m amazed that life on Earth has evolved from single celled organisms into what it is now. I also think that life is a time of endless opportunity. Knowing that I can open my heart to someone and brighten their day feels like a gift, and my life is a chance to do that every day.”

• Jessica Brann, senior

“Being able to do what you think will fulfill your desires.”

• Olivia Bartholomew, senior

“I don’t think you ever really know what makes life worth living. It changes as you age and it’s different for everyone. It’s something that everyone has but not that everyone is willing to find. I think life is a series of events and a collection of moments that determines whether a person has ‘truly lived,’ which is basically saying if they’ll be remembered after their life is over. Everyone’s life has some sort of meaning, it just depends on their impact on other people and the effects their actions have on the rest of the world.”

• Anonymous

“As to what I think life is, I don’t think anybody has a solid answer to that. We all enter this world, and we puzzle as to why and what for, then we exist, and life goes on. To me, life is like an abstract poem that could have a million different interpretations to it – it just depends on how you make it out. Ultimately, it’s up to the individual to decide what the meaning of life is.” 

• Ben Drescher, junior

“I have no idea how to answer this question because I don’t think there is really an answer to it, I don’t think anyone really knows. I think something that gives life meaning is knowing there is a possibility to achieve greatness in your life. The wonderfulness of the unknown. I think life is a gift that isn’t really explained. We don’t really know why we are here, but we have the chance to do something with that.” 

• Anonymous

In my own opinion, life is not about finding your calling or trying to understand what everything means; life is about beauty and emotion and experiencing all that we are. There is so much that we take for granted and so much that we have yet to know, but the only thing we can do right now is live. Live in the moment. Appreciate your existence and the existence of everything around you. Imagine how crazy it is for all of this to be possible. What are the chances that out of all the galaxies, solar systems, planets, places, and people that you exist right now, in this timeline, in this place, as the person you are? The probability of you existing at all actually comes out to 1 in 10^2,685,000, or 10 followed by 2,685,000 zeros (which is almost zero). To put it in perspective, the Universe only has 10^80 atoms. 

Life is extraordinary.