What Does Socrates Mean To Me Essay

Socrates, A famous Greek philosopher, Socrates, once said: “Life contains but two tragedies. One is not to get your heart’s desire, the other is to get it..” It’s true that

Life to me is just a book. It could be an adventure, a love story, a strategy, or simply just 2 pages of instruction how to live life. I have my own story too which I can’t really tell what type of it, though. But one thing for sure is that I did, I do and I will continue to write my own story. My story may or may not be perfect, but after all the draft the rewrite, the mistakes I made, it will eventually get better. Just like my life.

When I was about 5 to 6 years old, my mother sent me to live with my grandparents. My grandparents lived in the countryside. Because
I was born in a suburb, living in the country was a total completely different experience. It changed my perspective about other person’s lifestyle who from different regions than me. My grandparents were farmers and gardeners. They had a house next to the river with an orchard and a coop full of chickens and ducks. I used to play in the mud and sand. I ran around picking flowers, plucking leaves, and played with farm animals. Sometimes I went with my grandparents to their orchard to see them picking fruits. I realized that love and happiness don’t always come from wealth or power, it could come from the simplest things such as the ordinary jobs that we do or people that we met everyday. I learnt to have fun by myself. I learnt to climb trees. I became happier from interacting and spend time with nature.

By the time I was 13, most of my friends already knew how to ride bicycles, but I didn’t, so I decided to try it out.
I was a really coward person (I’m still now). I have always liked to try new things, but when it comes to get hurts or injuries, I tend to get scared easily. However, learning how to ride a bicycle helped I pushed through my limits. It took me a long time and a lot of courage, too. My cousin gave me his old bike to practice. I was having a lot of trouble with that bike. I failed and got back up many times. There were a lot injuries and bruises which were left on my legs and arms after all the failing and crashing. In the end, I made it. I was able to ride a bike. Failure is not fatal. The more a person fails and recovers and develops, the better that person get. Learning how to ride a bicycle taught me to be persistent and
bold.

Once day, I went home after a long school day while I was in eighth grade to realize the horrible fact that “Shortie”, my adorable dog has died. It broke my heart. “Shortie” was my first dog ever. He was considered as a family member to me. He has a big influence on me and my brother. He was sick 3 weeks before. He sneezed, lie in one place, refused to eat and did not even want to go for a walk. My parents took him to the vet. They gave him medicine and shots, but still he didn’t get any better. My brother and I could not do anything except for singing lullaby to him every night. We thought of doing this could make Shortie forgot his pain and go to sleep. My dog died 3 weeks later. I was in school at the moment he’s gone. I didn’t have a chance to see him at his last minute. Later, I became aware of the fact that time on Earth is short. We should love and take care for our loved ones right now, so that there will be no regret in the future just like me regretting over the death of Shortie. This incident made me be more sympathetic, empathetic and compassionate.

I was 15 when I first time came to America.
I was quite shy at the first time I came here. The weather, the language, the food, the people, basically everything, was so different compared to Vietnam. It was like having a culture shock. After a few months, I managed to get use to it. I started to speak English, made new friends. Everything was alright. But to be honest, I missed Vietnam sometimes. I had to admit that change is fun. My English and social skill improved a lot. I’m more confident and adventurous now than I used to be.

Life is the greatest journey a person will ever be on. A journey that is full of unforgettable memories. Even if those memories make me sad, I’ve got to continually move forward, believing in the future. Even when I realize I make terrible mistakes, and I am about to lose all hope, those memories make me stronger. I’m not alone, I’m not going to give up easily. I have to live and enjoy my life to the fullest. Because it’s a special privilege to be alive every
day.