What Do I Want on My Tombstone?

               I have never thought of what I wanted on my tombstone. I always thought death was far away, and it was always out of my concern. I was too busy thinking about the present. The first thing I think of when the word tombstone comes up is RIP, rest in peace. Before, I thought that RIP was the only thing that was written on the tombstone. If I could have something else written on the tombstone, I would want something positive. No one would want anything negative on their tombstone.

               I would want “the person who left great legacy on the society” on my tombstone. Leaving legacy on the society is one of the things that I want to accomplish before I die. I don’t have any specific plans of how I am going to achieve this, but one thing for sure is that I am determined to achieve this. One thing that I am considering right now is earning a lot of money so I can use it for a good cause that will benefit everyone around the world. If I become a billionaire and have enough money, I will donate at least half of my money to facilities that are working to invent vaccines or treatments for HIV. Although there are many more untreatable diseases, HIV is the most rampant and the deadly one. HIV is not actually deadly, because it itself does not cause death but its side effects. Still, it causes death indirectly. Also, many people especially in Africa have suffered from HIV. Cancer was one of the diseases that seemed to be untreatable although it is not a sexually transmitted disease like HIV. However, through the efforts of many people, more patients with cancer are being cured. Cancer that seemed formidable to many people is now becoming less and less formidable. To make HIV less formidable like cancer, I would like to spend my money on facilities. If I could help to save many people, I would feel very grateful to spend money even if it means spending thousands or perhaps millions.

Also, if I have any money left over, I would like to spend my money to reduce the cost of medicines and surgeries. When I lived in Korea, I would go to the hospital whenever I felt sick. I was then treated, and it was not a problem for me. But living in America with its medication cost high up in the air, I never visited hospitals. I only went for checkups or vaccines if it was necessary. I was always worried about my health, and it was the same for my families. When we had problems that seemed serious, we thought of flying to Korea instead of getting treatments here. Flight ticket might seem expensive, but it is nothing compared to the cost of medication that foreigners have to pay in America. Getting x-ray once costs a hundred dollar bill, which means a lot to immigrants like us. It’s not only the foreigners who suffer from high cost. Even the natives here complained that the high price prevented them from going to hospitals. In Korea, going to the hospital was not a question. If you are sick, then you go. Although these would cost a lot of money, I would gladly spend my money on these cases.