Donald Murry

The question we were asked was: Donald Murray was 82 years old when he died. Is there anything in his last few columns that you can learn from in your own career as a professional writer?

From what I read I believe that there is some information within the columns that Donald Murray wrote that I could use in my own career as a professional writer, however, it I would only use it on a personal level. Within the columns that we were assigned to read it sounded almost like Murray's preparation to leave this world. Almost as if it was his last advice to his readers. Throughout his 82 years of life, Murray wrote a lot of articles and toward the end of his life they were focused mostly on the advice he would want to give to his young readers before he past. In the article titled, "Adventures Close to Home" Murray writes, "Do I stay at home or go out? Each invitation has its own challenge, peculiar to our combination of ailments, discomforts, indignities. The easy way is to stay home watching soap operas as my father did in his last years. But I want to live the life I have been unexpectedly given as fully as possible."

Murray focused the last of his articles on writing about his life and the experiences he went through, the lessons he had learned, and what he believed to be the important things in life. What I learned from Murray's last articles was that we should all live our lives to the absolute fullest and take every obstacle in stride while enjoying every minute. Even with life's trials and tribulations there comes happiness and ultimate satisfaction if you strive for that within your own life. Do the things in life that can make you a happier person in your own life. Bring people into your world because in the end it makes the life you live seem so much bigger then it was while you were sitting all alone.