Mitch Albom's Tuesdays With Morrie

In college, one will gain copious amounts of knowledge, most of it is knowledge that will get one to high-paying job, but does this always guarantee success? In the psychological novel Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom, Mitch (a business-orientated sports columnist) finds out that his old professor from Brandeis College, Morrie Schwartz, is diagnosed with ALS, and he is going to die. Mitch and Morrie connect each Tuesday to discuss living and dying, and how one must deal with both. Morrie once says, “the truth is, once you learn how to die, you learn how to live,” (Tuesdays with Morrie). This aphorism explains that when someone finally realizes that they’re inevitably going to die, they learn to appreciate each day and live it to the fullest

You want to do one thing, but you are bound to do something else. Something hurts you, yet you know it shouldn’t. You take certain things for granted, even when you knew you should never take anything for granted. A tension of opposites, like a pull on a rubber band. And most of us live somewhere in the middle.¨ (Albom 40)

This applies to not just everyone, but especially Mitch as there is so many things he wanted to do that he enjoyed but he never had the time. When he listens to Morrie and absorbs this information combined with the fact that Morrie is dying, he comes to the conclusion that what he’s doing isn’t really what he loves to do. The last point is when you realize that someone else is going to die, you begin to appreciate their company and enthrall yourself in each moment spent with them. For example, Mitch looked forward to seeing Morrie each Tuesday even if that meant having to drive 700 miles just to see him for a short period of time. This was not only because Morrie was so intelligent and inspiring to be around, but Mitch knew that Morrie was going to die and he was trying to get moments and thoughts from him that he could cherish. Morrie’s students also tried to visit him and stop by his house quite often. As for Morrie’s children, they all seemed to really enjoy his company and appreciate all their time with