The following is an abridged version of a college-course essay prepared by a good friend in the Fall, 2004.

What the Good Life Means to Me

“What the good life means to me is something completely different from what it meant just one year ago. Growing up in a privileged, small town in the suburbs of Boston was a comfortable life for me.  I thought the good life was wearing fashionable clothes, getting a nice car once I got my license, and being able to go out whenever I wanted.  Then a close friend of mine, Reid, was diagnosed with cancer. I now view the good life completely differently.  His battle to stay alive has changed me forever. My views of what is important in life will never be the same. 

The experience of watching a friend suffer has made me realize how fortunate I was to have a great upbringing, how lucky I am now to be able to do things I can do, and how I can adapt to similar experiences and help others in the future.  I am privileged to recognize at the young age of 18 what the good life really is.  My life in the future is forever changed knowing how lucky I am.  I now know what the most precious gift in life is.  Seeing Reid suffer for nothing he has done wrong will change my way of thinking about a lot of things in the future.  I will be less apt to think in a superficial way.  I will no longer take anything for granted, and I will try to make the best of everything I have at the moment because I now know that things can change without warning.  I am lucky to have learned so much from this experience with my whole life ahead of me. I will carry what I have learned through this experience to help others in the future.

Watching Reid suffer from such an awful disease has taught me how to look at the world differently and how to interpret what the good life really means.  In the future, I will move forward and choose different paths, but I will never forget my past.  I will always remember my childhood and the people who have changed my perspective on life.  I use to take things for granted.  I now appreciate how fortunate I am to have my faith, my family, my health, my friends, and all of the opportunities given to me.  This is the good life.”

Inspired by Reid Sacco.  Written by Liana Boghosian for "Critical Reading and Writing" Loyola University New Orleans, Fall, 2004 Semester