This week, USC’s campus mourned the passing of one of our students, Jessica Clark, who valiantly fought lung disease for many years and even participated in efforts to raise money through the Lung Transplant Foundation during her illness. President Harris Pastides commented Tuesday on Jessica’s passing: “Her story is a heroic one and one that inspires me to worry less about my daily, minor problems and to do more to help others.”
We should all be keeping this in mind as well. It’s easy, especially around this time of year, to be caught up in the stresses of academics and our personal lives or to wonder what we’re doing after graduation or in the near future. Many of us are caught up in the havoc of searching for internships and jobs and may have other worries, some petty, some more serious.
But Jessica’s story has taught us we should step back and remember to see the bigger picture. Appreciating our friends and families and doing what we can to help others — these are the important things that will matter most in the long run. If there’s anything the Boston incident, the plant explosion in West, Texas, and Jessica’s story have showed us recently, it’s that there is nothing more fleeting and valuable than our lives.
Let’s keep this in mind as we cram for tests and papers these last two weeks and remember there’s an end to every tunnel. Obstacles in our everyday lives are inevitable, but some things may not be as serious as we think.