The minor league

Alexander The Great.

Charles Darwin.

Aristotle.

Caesar Augustus.

Mahatma Gandhi.

Che Guevara

Marie Curie.

William Shakespeare.

George Washington.

Plato.

Achilles.

Adolf Hitler.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Margaret Thatcher.

Elizabeth Tudor.

...

When you look at human history, you'll see that certain figures found a way to escape being swept away by the sands of time and became immortal in the minds of all future men. Odds against them, being just tiny specs in the multitude of humanity, they did something so profound and noteworthy with their lives that they earned their place in the books of history, instead of just becoming part of a collective noun.

It makes you wonder how any of us can ever hope to achieve that kind of greatness, to earn the right to be remembered, not just by your loved ones. It makes us wonder about how deeply a single person's life can affect the course of history.

If Alexander The Great had never lived, what would've happened to all the Greek city-states that he united under one glorious empire? Would they have fallen apart or would someone else have risen up in Alexander's place? And if Elizabeth Tudor had been denied the English throne, would England have still won against the Spanish Armada in 1588? Would England have become the superpower it is today, or would Spain have emerged victorious?

When I flick through a history book, I sometimes get the feeling that nothing I will ever do will be good enough to land me a place between the pages of the great men and women of history. It feels as though all those people are playing in the Majors, while I'm still in the Minor Leagues, waiting for my big break that may or may not happen.

I always fantasized about writing this book that would change the world. It would make me immortal as a writer and countless of people would be inspired by my words and I'll have earned my place among history's Hall of Fame.

These are just child's dreams, but I like to think that, in some way, this pushes me to be the best version that I can be. It makes me want to succeed even more in life, even if it is just to earn a byline in some book. I guess all I'm looking for is a way to be remembered long after everyone who knew me has gone as well. You might think this foolish and unattainable, but if writing a sonnet like Shakespeare is enough to achieve greatness, I might just start writing poetry or the next tragic lovestory.

I feel this way because I don't believe in the afterlife. I don't believe in Heaven or Hell. But I do believe that one can live on through the memories of others. The mere fact that, when I look at a movie like 'The Motorcycle Diaries', it makes me think of Ernesto Guevara and the road he took in life, a road that led him to fame, or infamy, depending on your POV. It makes me think about him as an actual person who lived just four decades ago. That makes my own journey a whole lot easier, knowing if he could do it, I too could have the potential to do something like that.

These people were like us. Ordinary human beings who decided to do something extraordinary with their lives. Whether it was through sacrifice or the refusal to bow down to an authority, they made their mark. Their actions echoing throughout the years, throughout the lives of others.

This seems like a good way to be remembered, not just for the person you were, but for the things you did. The lives you changed or will change. The people you loved and who, in turn, loved you back. The fact that no person ever really dies, they simply live on through others. In memories, in genes, in characteristics, in career choices or even as simple as the colour of someone's eyes.

A great way to go from the Minors to the Majors, all the way to infinity if you ask me.