The 2026 Blog

People always give some shit about how “life is short” as a justification for doing cool or scary things within a more immediate time frame. I hear it so often that I become desensitized to the emotional weight behind the message.

But, when your mom dies at the age of 54, you are forced to realize the emotion behind this phrase.

She did not get to grow old. She did not get to live in my promised in-laws house by my adult house so that we could stay close even when she was older. She did not get to live in the beach house in Delaware that I promised to buy and fill with friends and family. She did not get to see the fruits of her labor that is raising me.

Although she sacrificed so much to raise me, she never got to reap any of the larger rewards.

As the child of an immigrant, I feel a sense of guilt. I wish I was older when she died so that I could have fulfilled my promises to her.

Like the traditional immigrant story (though not everyone experiences this), she lived with immense financial anxiety. When I decided to study engineering, I was excited to make enough to give her a large chunk of it to calm her anxieties. I never got to do that.

I never got to thank her for being my mom in a way more than words could convey.

Instead, she died without evening seeing me graduate high school, much less getting married or moving into my first house. She always used to talk about how excited she was to go wedding dress shopping with me.

Now, three years after her death, I feel afraid of dying without experiencing everything I want to. This fear is impractical because of course everyone probably feels this way when they die. Everyone wants more time, theoretically.

You could die at any time. Even at the ripe age of 100, I am sure I would still ask for more time.

I take my mom’s death as inspiration to live a fuller life.

I love, learn, and experience more.

I travel to new places, start new engineering and business initatives, and experience my relationships with friends and family more deeply. Even obtaining my bachelor’s is excited because it equips me with the tools to help communities and work in a field I find fulfilling. I live with an open heart and embrace new opportunities.

Living this way gives me faith that I will feel fulfilled when I die. I am excited to have many memories to reminisce upon as I grow older.

“Living life to the fullest” is not an excuse to neglect all of your societal responsibilities like paying taxes and getting an education. Instead it is a principle to live by. It encourages you to step outside of your comfort zone so that you don’t regret not trying. Go experience what it means to be a human in a world of inspiring possibilities. Live for those who cannot be here to do so themselves.