"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

Humanity will always prove to avoid or evade any sense of a permanent or even temporary end, capitally death. This notion is hardly a shocking or revolutionary statement, and is considered generally common knowledge. Yet I still find it so intriguing as to how often it applies to life and literature, even at a young age such as my own. Society constantly encounters conclusions to time periods, stages, friendships, romances, and even emotions. Every beginning is followed by an end, naturally, yet once one is confronted with the coming of this end, they will do almost anything within their power to stall or completely avoid it altogether. Termination is not threatening until it is close enough in sight to be confirmed as reality. Humans are absolutely petrified of death, in any and all forms. Whether it be they fear the unknown,

In our most recent reading, The Stranger, Meursault seems virtually unphased by all life throws at him, until of course he is presented with the inevitable aspect of his early death. His character completely breaks under this weight, and pleads to continue on with his life.

"Then, I don’t know why, but something inside me snapped. I started yelling at the top of my lungs, and I insulted him and told him not to waste his prayers on me. I grabbed him by the collar of his cassock. I was pouring out on him everything that was in my heart […]. He seemed so certain about everything, didn’t he? And yet none of his certainties was worth one hair of a woman’s head. He wasn’t even sure he was alive, because he was living like a dead man […]. But I was sure about me, about everything, surer than he could ever be, sure of my life and sure of the death I had waiting for me. Yes, that was all I had. But at least I had as much of a hold on it as it had on me." This direct quote epitomizes his sudden realization of the eminent future that lay before him, and his once calm and collected perspective falters with the threat of its permanent termination. Humans believe themselves to be entirely invincible until death is too close to avoid or ignore. It is such a intangible concept that involves such intense emotional revelation that humans render themselves incapable of recognizing their undeniable ends. Prime example of this is graduation! For our entire high school careers, all that has been on any student's mind and ambitions is to graduate and leave the small town life we've all become accustomed to hating. Yet, as the immediate threat of leaving "forever" and moving on to a completely unknown way of life draws uncomfortably  near, apprehensions begin rising, emotions begin to swoon, and attachments become overly apparent. The fear of reality sets in, and the end to everything we have ever known remains all that is focused on. It is curious that something so highly anticipated can become to daringly frightful and unspeakable once it is close enough to be real. It is natural to fear the unknown, and completely understandable, yet one can choose to take each end as a new beginning. Each termination as a fresh start. Embrace the unknown, for it could turn into the next chapter of your life. In the stages of dying, one goes through denial, anger, bargaining, and depression before finally reaching acceptance. Graduation can be assimilated to death in this, that acceptance is final and brings peace and reassurance, and signifies a new adventure. Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.