. You Only Live Once - image 1 - student project Came up with this video script for this lesson; any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I'm Lordson Ajatiton, a multi-skilled creative from Nigeria, currently learning new skills.

You only live once! I was running the other day, and I started to think about life. I mean, what is life truly all about? I'll be taking you through six different thoughts about life during my early morning run. The fifth one is my favorite.

As long as you are breathing, you are alive, whether you are sick on an oxygen mask or in perfect health; so long as your heart keeps beating, you are alive.

Approximately sixty million people die globally each year. Being alive is not so easy in today's world. As of 2022, World Bank analysis showed the overall mortality rate in Africa was 8.2 deaths per one thousand persons yearly, with countries like Lesotho and Nigeria reaching 14.07 and 12.43, respectively. Some of these deaths were caused by accidents, sickness, and starvation, to mention a few. Life is full of challenges, from financial challenges to relationship challenges, work challenges, economic challenges, and societal challenges. I mean, it can get pretty challenging—even physical challenges.

What are the benefits of being alive? Firstly, you get to enjoy the beautiful things in life, see the world, and experience things, love, enjoy music, have sex, visit places, impact people's lives, be the absolute best you can be, and so much more.

Being alive for most of us feels like a big game of survival where we are all trying so hard not to die, surviving life's challenges every day, unsure what the next moment holds because life can be so unpredictable. Putting systems in place just so we don't die, like eating just so we won't die of starvation... and so on.

Amidst all the survival, don't forget to enjoy life. There are lots of ways to enjoy yourself, and you don't really need to break the bank. First of all, we need to define what enjoyment is. “Enjoyment is the state or process of taking pleasure in something.” So if you find pleasure in doing anything, it's basically enjoyment. You can take it a step further to create extra memory by dressing up and changing the location each time you are enjoying yourself. Dress up and have dinner at a different restaurant, or better, take one of your friends out on a date. Just make sure you are enjoying the life that you have.

Because in the end, everyone dies, and when death comes, nothing else matters. People will move on and go about their lives, oftentimes leaving a void in the lives and hearts of their loved ones, wishing the deceased were still there for even one last time. The truth is, no one knows when death will come knocking. So instead of wishing, start doing. Stop hesitating. Start Living.

Being alive is the ultimate blessing. Having people around who love and cherish you is an added blessing. Being rich with the resources to take care of them and enjoy life is also a blessing. Even though being alive also comes with the challenges of staying alive, making day-to-day life seem like a survival game. Don't forget to enjoy every moment like it's your last and be present. Because—you only live once.

Lordson Ajatiton

Impossible is Nothing!

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