GULF SHORES, Ala. — After an excruciatingly long day at school, a gut-wrenching tennis practice, and a frustrating hour of flossing my teeth through my endless braces, I drag myself to my bed and slam my head down on the pillow.

One question enters my mind, yet it is not the first time it has carelessly waltzed into what’s left of my consciousness after an abusive day.

What’s the point? This is the question that has been dancing around my mind like Bruce Springsteen at a Super Bowl halftime show.

For such a simple question, it covers an incredibly wide range of life itself.

The question that has taken a large part in my train of thought is a small remark that escapes your mouth when you are desperately floundering to assemble a complex toy on Christmas morning, is so big it explodes in your face with such brilliance as a bitterly, cold breeze in the early hours of a January morning.

Let me back up a moment to how this all began. If you haven’t noticed, everybody has been dropping like flies from either the flu, or the common cold for the last month or two.

I was among the lucky ones to wake up one February morning and find the flu staring me back in the face on the other side of my bed.

I had countless days to do nothing but endless thinking, which led to the idea of this column you’re reading.

So I started off just wondering why we do all the activities we do in a day that seem to serve no purpose whatsoever.

One thing led to another, and the next thing I knew I was wondering about the point of it all, that is, why we’re here and what our purpose is.

No, this in no way is meant to disregard the role of religion or God in any way, because I am a strong believer in “The Creator”.

I bring it up because sometimes I observe the multitude of seemingly pointless things we do day in and day out, and I wonder.

So I contemplated, “What’s the point?” off and on when I wasn’t delusional from NyQuil.

As my mind wandered about, I couldn’t find an answer that would strike my fancy.

So, when I could gather my wits, I pulled out Old Reliable: the Dictionary.

You wouldn’t believe the endless definitions for “The Point”; it was enough to make any anyone’s mind explode.

But I finally recognized the definition that was the closest to what I was looking for: The main idea or overall purpose; important or essential thing.

But now that I had the definition it still didn’t explain the why. Why do the many things we do? It didn’t even come close to satisfying my mind’s taste buds.

After Old Reliable didn’t pull through, I realized that my answer wouldn’t come from a book, but it would come from active people that are participating in and observing life each day.

I began to call around to ask the people I was sure would have an answer that would thoroughly explain why we do the many, pointless things we do each day.

My uncle, who is a successful doctor in San Antonio, Texas and has a family of four, has had 54 years to observe the many things that are done in a 24-hour day.

After asking Uncle Bradley, “What’s the point?” he boldly replied, “Many people do certain things each day out of habit; such as eating three meals a day, or mindless repetitive activities.

“But the point is to fill our lives with daily activities that bring personal fulfillment and gratification. Find your passion. If not in your daily work, it can be an interest or hobby that takes up a large part of your life just for fun and pure indulgence.”

I decided to dig a little deeper into my family tree and ask my grandparents what their opinion was for why we do the things we do throughout life.

They agreed that while you’re here you have to progress your mind and come to terms with your existence.

“You can’t be happy all the time,” my grandmother exclaimed. “You have to do the best you can to satisfy yourself while helping others. While you’re on Earth, you’re searching your soul for purpose and trying to find happiness with compassion and bravery.

“You don’t have to be the best; you just need to do what you can with what is given to you. And if you realize that you’re not doing what you love and what brings you the utmost joy, it’s never too late to change your fate.”

Lastly, I went to my dad and asked the question once again. He paused a moment, turning the thought over in his mind. “The point is to do the best we can to develop our minds and bodies to the best of our ability.

“Each day, take a little time to enjoy the beautiful world we have been given; from the flowers in the yard, the geese swimming in the lake, the dog with its nose in the wind while riding in the car, and the stars in the sky at night.

“But at the same time work hard to leave your own fingerprint on the world and to leave it a better place because of what you did while you were here.

“Then you can enjoy lying down at the end of your life with a good tired feeling, knowing you did the best you could with what you were given. To me, that’s the point.” 

So, what began with thoughts about pointless activities that serve no purpose, led to the point of it all.

After much thinking, I concluded that the many things we do each day provide us with enrichment and happiness that come in small quantities.

Without them, our life would be missing the fulfillment we receive from each of those days, and the satisfied sigh that we set free when we conclude our day by crawling into our welcoming beds before falling asleep.

I concluded that there are no pointless activities; it’s all life. Nothing is too small or too big.

So the next time you ask yourself, “What’s the point?”, don’t struggle, like I did.

Instead, ask yourself if what you do every day fills you with happiness and a satisfied feeling that you’re helping others while you’re doing it. And if it does, then you already know the answer.

Basch Jernigan is a ninth grader at Gulf Shores High School. He welcomes all questions, comments and opinions. He can be reached at basch@gulftel.com.