“What is life?” is a question people have asked for centuries, and there is still no single, complete answer. Life can feel simple at times and overwhelming at others. It can be joyful and painful, ordinary and extraordinary, sometimes all in the same day.

For some, life is about direction. It is about setting goals, chasing them and measuring progress along the way.

“Life has no distinct purpose or reason for being what it is, but a goal we can all have is to stride to make the most of whatever we deem it to be,” shared ERHS student Justice Flowers.

This keenly implies that meaning comes from striving. Goals provide structure. They give people a reason to wake up early, work hard, and keep going when things get difficult.

Others see life differently. They argue that life is not simply a race toward achievement, but something rare and remarkable in itself.

“To be given life and be put in reality is in comprehensively rare, however, there entails an impossibly rare modifier to one’s life, that I have had the fortune of being granted thereof; intelligence and sentience,” shared Joseph He, another ERHS student. This perspective emphasizes gratitude over ambition.

From this point of view, the ability to think, feel, and connect with others is extraordinary. The fact that humans exist at all, on a planet capable of sustaining life, is something worth appreciating every day. Both perspectives offer insight: Goals create purpose. Gratitude creates perspective. One pushes us forward. The other reminds us to slow down.

In the end, life may not need a single definition. Its meaning can shift depending on who is asked. What matters most is that each person takes the time to decide what life means to them and lives accordingly.