Today we were given the opportunity to visit Athens’ first cemetery. In my head I imagined walking along a rolling grassy plain, surrounded by tombstones for as far as the eye could see. The site that greeted me as we entered was quite the opposite. We passed a funeral that was just finishing and entered a jungle of flora and marble. Massive mausoleums shaded by palms and bushes squeezing from the cracks in the sides dominated the landscape. I felt like I could lose myself for hours in the labyrinth of past lives. Ornate sculptures and fresh flowers garnished the tops of some of the most famous and wealthy Athenian graves. A miniature Parthenon depicting scenes from the Illiad sat atop Heinrich Schliemann’s plot, a testament to his most famous archaeological discovery, Troy. I hung back from the group to think about how cemeteries differ from culture to culture. My misconceptions made me think about the treatment of the dead in Mexico, where lives are celebrated by staying the night in cemeteries during Dia de los Muertos. Legacy is huge in our culture. There is an intrinsic need to have people remember us and to have changed the world in some tangible fashion. The fact of the matter is this; we should live every moment to the fullest and have no regrets for the sake of life and then when we are gone our actions will have positively influenced many. Legacy cannot be forced, every action in life is important and you will never know which one you will be remembered for.
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