by Kelsey Lee

Created on: March 15, 2010

What is the meaning of life? That's a universal question all around the world. Is it to get married and raise a family? Possibly. What about to work hard and know that you've done something with your life? Could be. Maybe it's to leave a mark. Let people in the future know who you were like Benjamin Franklin or George Washington.

In order to answer the first question (The purpose of life) we must first answer the second question: What does it mean to be perfect? Perfection, as indicated by the one source we all know and love, Mr. Webster, means "an exemplification of supreme excellence b : an unsurpassable degree of accuracy or excellence."

So, does that mean that in order to be perfect there can be no mistakes? Not necessarily. Take a closer look at what it says. "Unsurpassable degree of accuracy or excellence." Unsurpassable: "Not to be exceeded." Perfection is not a lack of mistakes. That is a misconception. Perfection is the best of something. For example, not to be exceeded means someone who achieves something in which no one can beat. Say basketball for example... A team (Raptors) goes on to championships and wins. They're the top team in the league with only 2 losses all season. Every other game was a winning game. That team (Raptors) is, therefore, perfect. Because, they achieved something (won every game but two) and all the other teams lost 3 or more games, and could not exceed to that teams level of achievement. With me so far?

Ok... So, then what does it mean to be perfect? It means you do your best to achieve your goals in life. Even if you don't achieve all of them or any of them, if you did your best to reach them, than you have gained perfection.

In school, I had a teacher who really liked to make us think. He asked, one day, what we thought being perfect meant. Of course, we gave the typical answers. "To do something without any mistakes." He nodded his head and then proceeded by passing his watch around and telling all of us to take a really good look at it. It was old. It had scratches on the face. The strap was coming loose. He then told us something that has stuck with me for a long time. He said, "Perfection is doing what you were created to do. That watch is old and banged up, but does it still tell time?" We all nodded. "Telling time is what that watch was created to do. Therefore, even with all it's scratches, since it's still telling time it is perfect."

Since, we have now answered the idea of perfection, let's move on to

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