15 minutes of fame… 300 words or less

                 I can honestly say that this time period is one of the most stressful times of the year for many people for many different reasons. No matter what the reason is, many people face a heightened sense of emotions during the holiday season, that often makes every little thing, seem like a big thing. I've been currently assisting my senior students during their stressful time of need: applying to college. I must say I've become extremely empathetic in regards to their struggles with the application process. They've particularly struggled with completing their college essay because they haven't quite mastered how to translate who they are into 300 words or less. It seems that as adults we haven't quite mastered that feat either. While reading countless first drafts, and correcting one grammar error after another I stumbled onto a quite unique essay topic that I haven't come across before.
          "Andy Warhol once said, 'In the future everyone will be world famous for 15 minutes'. Describe what your 15 minutes will be like" I can't say I was blown away by the student's response, but it did however begin a deeper thought process for me, as well as spark the idea behind this entry. Unfortunate in the eyes of others I'm sure, I have been positively described as someone who undoubtedly follows a "live fast, die young" mantra. However I do not want that to be confused with the newly popularized "YOLO" lifestyle that people are hopelessly and selfishly clinging to. Every day I wake up is a gift, an opportunity to live that day to its fullest potential. It is not an opportunity to make harmful, foolish decisions under the guise of living on the edge, or "only living once". I do indeed "live fast" because I do not believe in the provisions of living to plan.  Creating goals are important as it sets up an end, but I don't want to draw out the map, I want to create it as I go. I know where I want to end up, and how I get there can change so often that mapping it out takes away from the actual living part of life.
               This thought process was my initial road block to achieving a viable answer to the aforementioned essay topic. How can I describe what my fifteen minutes of fame will be when I choose not to plan the minutes directly ahead of me. Of course I could BS the answer and state my fifteen minutes will be filled with triumph, and love, while avoiding pain, heartache, and disappointment. But how would that set my fifteen minutes apart from any one else's? How would that response be unique enough to catch the attention of a 160 character or less society, let alone an admissions board. The best answer I can give is also my most honest answer: I don't know. And thats the beauty and the nightmare of it all. I don't know if my fifteen minutes of fame are behind me, lie ahead of me, or if I'm at minute 7 right now. What I can positively state is I won't be around forever, and while I may not know or be able to creatively speculate what my outcome will be, I can be held accountable for the now. I can control what I do now, and hope it affects the world the way I intend it to. I can only hope that my intentions are always construed as good. I want to be someone they can never forget, leave just enough positive in the world to be more than a memory, and in this way my presence will always be felt. If this so happens to be the case then I will be satisfied with the fact that my fifteen minutes of fame were spent making sure I was infinite.