I am an animal. And I will die.

I am an animal who reads Shakespeare.
I am an animal who sits down to think sometimes, for no better reason than just to think..
I am an animal who can reason, conceptualize, and kick the shit out of any other animal on this planet, or any other planet.

I will die.
I will die, and it does not scare me. That day is not here yet, and I continue to live, love, and learn. That day will come, and when it does, my world will be ended. This does not scare me; it gives definition and urgency to my existence. It gives flavor to my life.

I am an animal and I will die. I know the difference between saying I'm an animal and saying I'm 'just' an animal.

I am an animal who knows pride, honor, love, duty, choice, thought. I am an animal, yet I know these things. My humble roots only enhance my achievement.

I am an animal, and I will die, just like the lion and the eagle and the fish. But I can hunt better than the lion, fly higher than the eagle, and swim faster than the fish. I am an animal, and I am better than these animals.

I am an animal. I am a human. I am a prideful creature, and I feel no shame for that.

"While we live, let us live." -- Robert Heinlein