Would You Rather Begin to Live or Die? by Melody

Would You Rather Begin to Live or Die? by Melody - May 2017 Scholarship Essay

There was a time when I was younger and didn't really stop to think much about my life. I'd just keep on hoping that I'd be alive as long as I can. The thought of death was one of my worst fears. This all changed when I was in my first guided reading session, in my 5th grade class. The book my teacher chose for us to read was Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt. After finishing this book, my view on life had changed.
In this story, a 10 year old girl, named Winnie Foster, was living a wealthy, proper girl life with no freedom, never being able to take one step outside her fence. One day she took the dare to finally take that step and explore the woods that her father owns. On her exploration she runs into and meets Jesse Tuck. He happens to be one of the sons in the Tuck family, a family that no one in civilization is familiar with at the time. From there, Winnie is taken to the family and learns a surprising secret that involves the Tucks and her father’s words.
Decades ago the family came across the woods and drinks from a spring. They were unaware of the what was in store for them. After time went by, they realized that they were no longer aging, and they have became immortal. As much as much as it may be grand, the Tucks paid a serious price in their lives. When some found out about their secret, the Tucks were accused of witchcraft and black magic. Even friends and loved ones of the Tucks pulled away from them. This drove the Tucks to leave their home and go into hiding. Decade after decade, they keep on moving out and leaving others they have met along their time. For these reasons, the Tucks want Winnie to keep their secret.
Now that Winnie had learned of their past, she is left to make an important decision in her life. Her first choice is to drink from the spring when she turns 17, so she can spend eternity with Jesse. The other choice is not get a drink and live a normal life. However, Pa Tuck has a talk with Winnie in order to help her make her decision, explaining the morality of her options. He wants her to understand that if people knew about the spring, and everyone were to get a drink, they wouldn’t have a life anymore. That result would interfere with the circle of life. Everyone would be stuck in their stage and never move on to the next one. At the end of Pa’s lecture, he tells Winnie “Do not be afraid death, yet be afraid of an unlived life”.
Reading that quote made me think twice about life. It was the thought of how my life would end that I should be more aware of. When I die someday, I want to die knowing that I have lived my life while I had it. If I were in Winnie’s shoes, I would also make the decision not to drink from the spring. My goal in the future is to make sure I keep doing my best to live life, from after I graduate till as long as I have left on this Earth.