Death
Death is the foundation for fear. Whenever you are afraid of something, chances are that your fear is linked to death in some way. There are a few exceptions such as being afraid to take a test, trying to perform well in an audition, or making public speeches, but other fears, such as being afraid of the dark and cowering from heights, are very much death-related. Death is perhaps an interesting topic because, believe it or not, all people die. The truth hurts.
Humans have been obsessed with death since they first began living. Religion most likely started as a result to make death less frightening. In some cases, when you die, you end up in heaven. Other times you go to hell. Perhaps you will be reincarnated? Or maybe there isn’t an afterlife and you just lie in the earth eternally without thought - eternal sleep. It’s a mystery that everyone has thought of at some point.
Some people live (or die) for their religion; religion plays as the center of their world. Me? I have my own religion; I make it up as I go on. Sounds a bit ridiculous, but it makes more sense to me than anything else. Growing up without going to Church or following any practices, all my ideas come from myself. Of course, I have friends and people to influence my beliefs, but I don’t take anything for granted.
What do I think? When people die, I don’t expect them to go anywhere. I don’t expect there to be a heaven or hell. I don’t expect there will be any afterlife. When I die, I’ll probably feel nothingness - the same nothingness as when I sleep. Sometimes I stay up all night thinking about death. Sometimes I wonder if I will be able to wake up alive in the morning. It is perhaps even more disturbing that if I don’t wake up alive, I would never know I had died.
I hope I’m wrong. I hope there is an afterlife to look forward to. I hope there is something after life that is worth living for or else why do I live at all? Why do I exist? It is somewhat pointless to ask a question that can’t be answered, but it’s worth a shot.
— Alan Liang