What would you do if you only had 24 hours left to live
Imagine if you only had 24 hours left to live, what would you do? Where would you go? For some of us, this question was a breeze. For others, maybe not so much. So we decided that as a community of student writers for Chasing the Storm, that all students, teachers, and staff here at IPS should be heard. Therefore, a survey was sent out to collect a variety of student’s and teachers’ thoughts on the following topic: “If you only had 24 hours left to live, how would you spend them?” Below are some of their responses as well as our own. Enjoy!
Family-related:
“If I had 24 hours left to live, I would probably spend time with my loved ones,” Global Perspectives and journalism teacher, Michelle Baker said. “I would want to spend as much time as possible with my family, friends, and pets. All of my happiest memories have been spent with the people I am close with. Most of those memories involved sitting around a kitchen table enjoying a meal together or playing a game, so I definitely think that is how I would spend my time. I also think going on a nice walk at the end of the day and watching the sunset would be the perfect way to spend my time.”
“I would most likely drink at least four energy drinks so that I could stay up all day. Then I would work out early in the morning to get the highest PR I possibly could, then I would go hang out with my friends and play soccer with them,” Sophomore, Brianna Kraemer said. “Then I would spend time with my grandparents and family most of the day and then at the end of the night I would play music really loud and just dance the night away with my closest friends and my family.”
“If I had 24 hours left to live, I would spend most of it napping…on the other hand, I would also spend a lot of that time reading my bible and praying,” sixth-grader, Madeline Miller said. “I would also buy four llamas and six new Hermit Crabs. Their names would be Lester, Jeff, Ellie, Awesome, Big Mike, and Sarah. (these are characters from one of my favorite shows: Chuck) And of course, I would eat whatever I wanted (including, lots of chicken pot-pies) because HEY, I’m gonna die anyway…Then I would spend a lot of that time with my family and love on my pets (Kona my German Shepard puppy, and my cute little hermit crab, Charles Carmicheal).
“If I had 24 hours to live I would get my whole family together and we would just hang out the whole time and have a blast,” Sophomore Anneliese Gannon said.
“I would probably say goodbye to all of my friends and family and give my boyfriend my last goodbyes (since my family is extremely important to me). This would be really heartbreaking for me, but I suppose this is what the scenario is explaining,” freshman Natalie Charney said. “Oh, I would also probably take care of my horse one last time before I pass away since she is my best friend.”
Faith related:
“If I had 24 hours left to live, I would spend as much of that time as possible with my family. I would want it to be relaxed and meaningful. When Jesus only had a few days to live, he spent time with his disciples,” also a Freshman, Gibson Miller said. “Particularly something that resonated with me, is that he washed every one of their feet. I hope that I would do something similar with the people around me at that time.”
“If I had 24 hours left to live, I don’t think I would change from what I am doing now, but perhaps I would focus more on specific things. Naturally, I would want to spend at least some of my time with my family: probably about 18 hours. Secondly, I would continue reading the Bible and praying, some of that with my parents,” Senior, Mark Lowell said. “I’ve had a few times in the last year where I had to face death head-on, and I see one consistent thing: He was with me through it all. I’ve never done anything to merit it, but he is faithful. So, I would spend my last few hours communing with my God and making intercession for others.”
“I would spend my last 24 hours on earth with my family, my best friend, and loving on my pets because I’ve found that the majority of my favorite memories were made with those people/animals. I would also spend some of that time out in nature in the presence of God. I know that might sound cliche to some but, my relationship with Christ and the relationships I have with my loved ones come first, before everything else in my life,” freshman and also one of the co-writers of this article – along with Michelle Gutierrez, Emma Miller said. “As I may or may not have clarified above, I am in fact a Christan. With that, I would choose to serve those around me with an open heart because that is what Christ would do. I would also continue to share my testimony (or at least parts of it) with those around me so that they could see and know all that God has done for me and hopefully with that, want a relationship with Christ and come to accept him before I pass away. Because I mean, hey, I know that I’m saved but, are my friends? My teachers? My family? So, why not go out knowing that I helped save those I care about.”
“I would probably try to get as many people saved as I could because I would want as many people as possible to go to heaven with me, freshman Syllia Boyd said. “I’m a Christian if I didn’t say that already.”
Personal enjoyment related:
“I would go to the gym with my friends and then hike with my dogs,” Physical Education and Health teacher Helena Spaulding said. “Then spend the rest of the time hanging out with people I love. I would choose to do this because it is what I like to do the most. It also makes me feel the calmest and happy.”
“If I had 24 hours left to live… I would honestly probably live it boring compared to others,” Freshman, Brady Heuseveldt said. “I wouldn’t really want to do anything out of the ordinary except just relax for my last 24 hours and just spend time with friends. The best way to go out is to go out relaxing.”
“If I had 24 hours left to live, first I would go to Chipotle because I love Chipotle. Then I would drop by QuikTrip and get a rooster booster slushie because that flavor is the best flavor slushie ever. Then I would go home and watch the whole season of Victorious because I LOVE Victorious,” seventh-grader Avelaka Higuera said. “Then I would have all my friends over, and we would eat Chipotle, drink slushies, eat talkies, watch Victorious, and I could spend my last moments with them. I would of course FaceTime ALL my family members and say goodbye. Then I would go swimming because I love swimming. Then ALL my friends and I will play softball. Then I will get buried under softball dirt, rose petals, and Chipotle chips. BOOM! Best way to live your last day on earth.”
“I would go fishing in the bass pro shop fish tank, there is some big bass in there and I’ve always wanted to catch one. I would also get everything anyone needed to know off of my chest and there would be some people I would get in fights with,” freshman Arnold Stoltz said. “I would also want to kill one last buck before I die.”
“I would hang out with the most important thing which is my dog, his name is Olaf. Another thing I would do would say my last goodbyes and thank them for everything they’ve done with me and impacted me positively through my life,” Freshman and also one of the co-writers of this article – along with Emma Miller, Michelle said. “Hanging out with my close friends and boyfriend would be one of the main things I do as well.”
