BIRTHDAYS are perhaps one of the most joyous occasions in our lives. They are among those events that are celebrated universally, regardless of culture or religion. After all, life is a gift that is always worth celebrating. Every year, another candle is added to our birthday cake. We use the candle as a symbol to celebrate the year of life that we have lived and everything that we have experienced and achieved during that year. However, when we have recovered from the initial excitement of the celebration, we do have to blow out the candles that have been lit. At this point, we are reminded that each candle also represents a year that has passed—a year of our lives that we will never get back.

We are often reminded that we only get one chance at life. The words “You only live once” have, in a strange way, become the motto of young people as a whole. So, we are encouraged to enjoy every single day and ensure that we use time to the best of our abilities. However, living life to the fullest can mean different things for different people. An important aspect of the journey of life is discovering what it means to us.

For instance, seated within panes of glass in an Argentine museum is a mummy named La Doncella. The mummy is that of a 15-year-old girl who was a member of the Incan tribe nearly 500 years ago. Her purpose in life was to become a messenger to the Incan deities. So, she sat on the freezing mountaintops until she succumbed to the cold in her sleep. Today, we can still see her dreams and desires frozen in a museum along with her physical form, just as it was five centuries ago.

At the same age of 15, Bobby Fischer received the extraordinary title of ‘grandmaster’, thus setting a record as the youngest chess player to gain the title. Finally, at the age of 15 as well, Malala Yousafzai survived an assassination attempt that was made simply because she advocated for girls to be educated. Two years later, Malala won the Nobel Peace Prize while also setting a record as the youngest person to do so.

Each one of these young people was the same age when they experienced one of the most significant events in their lives. Yet, they were vastly different in what they achieved and what they inspired as a result of their achievement. La Doncella has inspired historians and archaeologists for decades. Bobby Fischer has inspired generations of young chess players. Malala Yousafzai has inspired so many young girls and women to speak up for their rights. Their fifteenth birthday candles served as a herald to their own eras of inspiration.

Our lives do not need to become inspirations to generations of other young people. They do, however, need to carry meaning and fulfilment to the persons living them. The idea that “you only live once” falsely leads us to believe that life is a task with a time limit attached to it. It leads us to believe that there is a predetermined list of experiences that we must all gain in order for our lives to be considered significant. This puts an enormous amount of pressure on us to not only find these experiences but also to find them enjoyable even if it feels like they do not fit us.

It is quite likely that when we light our final birthday candles, we will not even realise that we are doing so. Many of us spend much of our precious time forcing ourselves to do things that we think we should be doing regardless of whether or not they bring us satisfaction. Then, we spend time wondering whether we are doing enough with our lives or whether we are missing out on other things we should be experiencing. The answer to these questions cannot be found anywhere but deep within our own hearts. If we wake up each morning feeling glad for the day ahead of us, and we enjoy everything we do during the course of the day, then it simply means that we are already living the best version of our lives, and there is nothing we need to change