Personal Views on Journey to the Grave- Kendra

Wow! Life after death…every time I said this before we started our senior project it brought chills down my spine. Now…life after death has become an afterthought and I feel no emotion when I think about it. This has indeed been a journey and one that I have felt like I was a part of the whole entire way. I never would have imagined myself along with three other young ladies filming a documentary on life after death or death at all. 


When we first came up with this topic I was a little sketchy because this is a sensitive or should I say strange topic to do a documentary on. Unsure of how things would turn out we dove into this project with high but unsure hopes but things came alone well. We changed topic’s within this topic at least a thousand times but finally decided to go with the concept of talking about the life cycle and what happens once one crosses over. I did things in this group that I may have never done on my own. I had the opportunity to meet with a psychic/medium…shout outs to Sammie Jo and her mom, learn final cut pro to the TEE well at least I feel like I did, meet some of the most interesting people, and learn some serious leadership skills and time management skills. 


This project has changed my view on life and death. I’ve learned to value every hour, minute, and second of my life. I’ve learned to love those around me and treat everyone like tomorrow isn’t promised. I’ve learned to not be so scared about death. No need to worry about something that I have no control over. Live your life for tomorrow is not promised…see you on the other side


-K

Joy Ngoma: My personal views on life after death and the cycle of life

Firstly, I would like to say that this is a topic I rarely discuss so when the opportunity presented itself to do our short documentary on this topic, I was overly excited . I guess , not necessarily because its a great topic but because I want to know what other people's views on life after death are or where they stand .
Personally , I was brought up to believe that there is a heaven (which is the place one goes to if you lived your life in the good ways of the Bible -follow in Jesus's footsteps AND do no evil ) also to believe in  Hell (which is the place I was told one goes to if they didn't surrender their soul to the lord .)
I was brought up to believe in the after life , from a young age i was told  that heaven is the place  where I will get to be whatever I want , eat whatever AND not to have to worry about a thing , I'll be able to meet angels , touch them and talked to them , play with animals - AND that is what they call "eternity " 

But if I don't do what the bible tells me to do , or what my sunday school teacher taught me about the bible ,Jesus, the Holy spirit and God , that i was  pretty much paving my road to hell (that's where the devil is , I will burn in a dark hole and not have fun at all ) that is the beliefs from the younger me .
 Now that I am older - and can read the bible , evaluate and connect with the stories in a way that fulfills my heart AND not having to worry about judgement day .
I have my own version of what heaven should look like - I do believe that when one dies , there is a higher place that they go to - a place of peace and harmony and in some way I do believe that their spirit is still connected to the living .
I like to look at myself as a spiritual instead of religious individual. Yes, I DO go to church and yes I do read the bible but I am also aware that there's different ways of reaching enlightenment and there is  no wrong or right way of getting there . I live my life consciously AND try my best to be present in this life .

I don't want to walk around with a chip on my shoulders that whatever I do will get me to heaven for sure. But I do want to do things that will allow me to sleep at the end of the day - I want my actions to represent my conversations with God , as i believe my prayers are my actions . I can not curse out my brother or sister begging for money in the middle of the street and treat them less than an animal in the  Jungle seeking for survival ...AND then run to the alter on Sunday to Ask for forgiveness because I want the golden gates to be open for me when i crossover.
I want to be that person who is conscious in my life because that will allow me to treat people the way I would like others to treat me . I want it to be a natural action ,to be of service to others with empathy, respect and compassion,  as natural as blinking ..

Coming back to the topic of life after death - yes I would like to keep the belief that a person has different lives , that when I die - it will not be the end of me -that I will have another life after I have crossed over . Do I want to know how that life looks like ? Nope . Do i want a glimpse of that life through other people who claim to have crossed over and came back? No, But i do respect those who seek for answers and their thirst for the after life experience.
 I have faith that it is there, and that is all i'm content with  ....and maybe I am living it right now- who knows! ...maybe my heaven is somebody else"s hell and somebody else's hell is my heaven ....its not doubt or lack of imagination , but it is what it is,  what it is-   until the day my spirit leaves my body i will continue to believe that my spirit will continue to live long after my body has turned into dust 
The mystery of Life, Death and the after life does not bother me at all - because it is part of who i am, its nature and a puzzle that has all the pieces but no need to be solved just yet.  


-J

Personal Views on Journey to the Grave- Cassie

When you first hear the topic "Journey to the Grave," what's the first thing that comes to mind? For me, it’s a closed casket buried 5 ft underneath the ground. The second thing that comes to my mind is a long and complex journey that one must take all by themselves. With that being said, my views on this project when we first started it were all over the place. I was scared at the beginning when we decided to center our whole project on a funeral home. This is mainly because death is something that just kind of happens naturally…and never really discussed because nobody “really” knows what happens afterwards.

After numerous amounts of research, spending time at the funeral home, and discussing death out loud, my views on this subject matter slowly began to change. Along with the direction of our documentary due to circumstances beyond any of our control.

I can honestly say that doing this project has definitely been and interesting journey. I got to see the behind the scenes of what goes on in an actually funeral home, as well as talk to a real live psychic! It was very eye opening for me to here everybody's opinions on our documentary's subject matter; especially Sammie's since she claims that she knows what goes on after one's life is over in this world. She even told me some things about myself that I did not tell her before meeting her for the first time. Sammie even went on to tell me about what my future has in store for me for the next 4 years. Whether she is right or wrong, I am extremely glad that I have a strong faith in God. As long as I have him on my side and believe in his word, I can get through and achieve anything :)

-C

Personal Views on Journey to the Grave- Ashley

When first going into this project, we had a map and a plan for what we wanted...a Journey to the Grave and our main feature being on the details of a funeral home. I wanted to go inside and find out what it was really like for the people working in there. I had stereotypical views at first but all that was put to rest. When we didn't get the access like we were supposed to our project took a turn. Now turning it into the cycle of life viewing different interpretations on life and life after death. The turning point in our project was expected because I mean it is a documentary. 


Personally, this physical Life is beautiful to me, I think people NEED to take time to seize the day but not get caught up in spontaneity. Life needs structure in order to achieve your dreams and have purpose and that is where hard work comes into play. Everyone should also take time to go for what they love, even if they fail. I believe we are all working for a higher purpose in life so make the best of it. I have my religious views also when it comes to life and life after death but I am more in touch with my spiritual side than religious side. I believe with this entire universe and everything that's in it there just HAS to be a higher being and God/Jesus is the person I believe is that higher being. I believe the heaven we're going to is the one God made for us and get a lot of my views from the Bible.  Life after death is just that...LIFE. We're living now in a physical presence but we don't know what living is until we die because that's forever. 


This project has opened my mind a bit more and made me think about what's ahead and death itself. When it comes to death, I believe what I've been taught since I can remember. I believe in preparing yourself for the afterlife...that means living your life according to how God wants you to. Everyone has a path and they may swerve off plenty of times but at the end of the day God knows where your heart is and will help you as much as he can to get on that path that he set out for you. When it's my time to go I have faith that I'll be on that path.  It's your choice if you want to continue on that path or veer off completely. God gave us free will...take advantage of it, that can be interpreted positively or negatively...your choice. 


Coming towards the end of this project leaves a bittersweet taste in my mouth. All these thoughts on life and death drive me crazy because there's so many unanswered questions and so many different views. But hey, we aren't meant to know everything. I guess I'll find out on the other side...see you there?


-A

The End of a Journey

We're nearing the end of what seems like a never ending journey.  This project turned around in so many ways and we came across so many late nights. Mentally, we are all worn out. But as we end we take with us so much. New thoughts about the life cycle and life after death leave us pondering and wanting questions answered. We'll each tell you our personal views on this entire project and our views on life and life after death. Stay tuned.


-KCAJ 

And the world cannot be discovered by a journey of miles,
no matter how long,
but only by a spiritual journey,
a journey of one inch,
very arduous and humbling and joyful,
by which we arrive at the ground at our feet,
and learn to be at home.

~ Wendell Berry ~