The Lion's Pride vol. 4 (June 2015) | Page 21

that want to shove cadavers into cement boxes and put them underground. But the best way to fight is from within. I want to bring into my new college classrooms the discussions that I had brought to my students in the past. Deliberating your mortality and looking inside yourself for the courage to make end-of-life plans can heal wounds that you never knew existed and increase your gratitude of life! Everyone dies. It’s not fun to swallow for any of us, but I believe if the “business” of death (finances, remains and funeral planning, logistics, and wills, etc.) were to be dealt with during life, the concept of grieving and healing from such a loss will be more comprehensible to our psyches. Plus, there is now a myriad of ways to deal with our remains that people can research and choose for their own body before the time of death, therefore lessening denial and fear. Creating sensitive spaces and discussions that aid people in figuring out how they want to go, what goals need to be accomplished before the time comes, how to work through grief and look death in the eyes could create a kinder, more appreciative society. Humanity and society as a whole are perfectly capable of acknowledging what we’ve always known and there is no reason to be afraid of it. We have rights as human beings to make these decisions ourselves and if we can