As I have begun to see and experience certain areas of my life that will develop more after high school, I have been given a taste of a life I want to live. I want to look back on my life and realize that I lived everyday to the fullest and possess a lifetime supply of experiences. This is what Longfellow is showing in the poem that I have quoted. I like to remember this stanza because it embodies what I hope to ascertain about life. Life is composed of so many different key elements that to live it you need to find something that works to balance all of these elements. I have found different things that have shown me that "Life is real!" I am in choir and have loved every minute of it because it has allowed me to make friends and to find ways to deal with everything that can and will happen. For me, choir and ballet work to try and pull me from my shell and fill me with a defining purpose that I have not found anywhere else. Another practice that has help me has been my developing bookshelf. The reason I found this quote is because my grandmother gave me her entire set of The Harvard Classics. Each day I read some of a multitude of different works found within this set, and I have found a love of reading that has helped me each day. These volumes mean more to me than just words on a page, but rather are sometimes words I need to hear. What I have learned in these books has helped me learn more about life and the importance of living.