The Two Most Important Days in Your Life

The Quote

The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why. - Mark Twain

I saw this quote while watching JEOPARDY! one night; I immediately looked it up and bookmarked it. What a powerful quote! It got me thinking about the "why" and whether I have found mine yet.

I filed it away but started really thinking about it a few days later. At first I decided it was wrong - there are far more than two important days in many of our lives; getting married, having children, choosing a career, etc... Then I realized he wasn't just talking about important days but the most important days - what a difference that one word makes. Even when I made the distinction between "important" and "most important" I had trouble; I guess the trouble is that I think there are more than two days.

We don't have any say in the first day - we don't ask to be born and don't pick the circumstances - but the second day is the truly special one. I don't think we have a say in the "second" day, either; I think it just happens and we may not even notice for a long time. Naturally, the days that my children were born would have to be the most important for that was when I became responsible for someone other than myself. That is a shared "most important" day as I share that responsibility with my wife. There are other monumental events that would fall into the same category; meeting my wife, getting married, choosing a profession, etc... but I think the quote points to something a bit more abstract.

I have given this a lot of thought and think I know the second day. It would have been some time around mid-October in 2007 - the day I first volunteered for the JDRF Walk for a Cure in Avon-by-the-Sea, New Jersey. I didn't know it at the time but that would be the first of many times I have volunteered for a good cause. The first year I worked in the "Counting Room" going thru envelopes and counting money. It felt good to be helping but....

My "Why"

Team Photographer for JDRF - 2008 thru 2013

In 2008 I volunteered as a Team Photographer and continued in the job thru 2013. It was while volunteering as a photographer I learned the "why" but I don't think I realized it for a few years. You see, photography has always been something I loved and it was something I did primarily for me (you can read about my obsession here - Why Photography?). I would show my work to people but the underlying reason for shooting was to satisfy something deep inside of me. Volunteering as a photographer allowed me to use my skills to help others. Participants in the walk were so happy to have a group photo, it made me feel good that I could give them something in return for their supporting diabetes research. After the 2013 walk it was time for me to move on.

Event Photographer - 2014 thru ?

Immediately after deciding not to return to the JDRF walks I started looking for new opportunities. I had been wanting to volunteer with American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) for a few years but always forgot until I saw someone post they had just walked.... I also wanted to get involved with the Lustgarten Foundation. Within days of my last JDRF walk, I found local Lustgarten Foundation and AFSP walks; they weren't until June and September, respectively, but I wrote right away. I got my answer from both rather quickly - YES! I wasn't going to be a Team Photographer - I was going to be an Event Photographer. I covered both events in 2014 and started looking for more - in 2018 I covered six (6) between May and November. I truly believe this is my "why", as well as why I was given the gift of photography.

Working as an event photographer is hard work but it may very well be the most rewarding work I have ever done. I get to meet some truly incredible people, while collecting memories of the day for them to re-live over and over again. Someone asked me if I got paid for my work, I replied, "Yes, with smiles, laughs, high-fives and 'thank-you's!" That is far more satisfying than money will ever be.

So, while I can't pinpoint an exact date, I do believe I know when I discovered my "why." Have you found yours? If so, what did you find? Let me know in the comment section below.