What Will Be Your Legacy?

Over Memorial Day weekend, I read a story about a young Yale graduate named Marina Keegan who was slated to begin a promising career as an editorial assistant at the New Yorker.

She loved her boyfriend, and had plans to move in with friends in Brooklyn as she began her career in New York. The future was bright.

She was President of the Yale College of Democrats and wrote a story for Yale’s WEEKEND Magazine that was featured on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.”

On Memorial Day weekend, she was killed in a car accident. She was 22.

We hear stories like this and they make our insides flip-flop. We think, “What a shame,” and “What a waste of a promising life.”

But in her short life she left a legacy.

Do you ever think about your legacy?

In 2012, she graduated magna cum laude from Yale. She was an actress and enjoyed writing plays. She was independent, motivated and ALIVE!

Had it occurred to her that all of her hard work would end in such tragedy? Who ever thinks that way?

As a college student, I thought I was invincible. As a young career woman, I focused on solid plans for my immediate future. I never really considered death or what impact my life would have on those around me.

It wasn’t very often that I thought of the legacy I might leave. I’m sure it hadn’t crossed Marina Keegan’s mind very often either.

Yet, she is dead at 22 – deceased, but leaving a legacy.

She had written a musical called “Independents,” which according to HuffPost College, is to show in the New York International Fringe Festival in August. She impacted thousands through her college news column.

Through all of her hard work and dedication, she made a name for herself even in her short 22 years of life.

In her last column, published just a week before her death, Marina wrote:

“What we have to remember is that we can still do anything. We can change our minds. We can start over. ... The notion that it’s too late to do anything is comical. It’s hilarious. ... We’re so young. We can’t, we MUST not lose this sense of possibility because in the end, it’s all we have.”

“But let us get one thing straight: the best years of our lives are not behind us. … I plan on having parties when I’m 30. I plan on having fun when I’m old. Any notion of THE BEST years comes from clichéd “should haves...” “if I’d...” “wish I’d...”

After reading about Marina, I can only hope I’ve done enough to make a difference in this world even if I die tomorrow ... not for the world, per se, but for the legacy I leave to the next generations of my flesh and blood.

We can live for today, but let's make sure our impact always will be a positive one. Although we have no control over our fate, we do have a say in the legacy we will leave.

NOW is our time to .