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I don't remember when I learned what death was. I went to Michigan yearly and sometimes would visit the family cemetary. I would hear about deaths, and endings, and I suppose I figured out what it was like. I absorbed stuff like that a lot during my early years, like what sex was. The first time anyone I knew actually died (that I remember) was when I was about eight and my neighbour's dog got hit by a car. I loved this dog, and I was in a reclusive state for a little while after that, burying myself in computer games and books and other stuff. When I had come out of that state, I was much better. Since then, I've been growing gradually more calm about death. So much so that, not long afterward, when an old dog I had petsat many times died, my first response was to shrug and say that it was sad, but not tragic. She was fifteen, older than myself at the time, and had almost died so many times that finally doing it was probably a relief.

I don't really have any religious or spiritual beliefs, but I think that there could possibly be an afterlife. If there is, there's a chance that it's entirely determined by each person's mind figuring out what the most suitable place for them is after death (so someone who believes that they deserve to be punished goes to Hell, or something like it.) If souls are judged by a greater power and sent to one place or another, then the only way to determine the criteria for placement is to either commune with the greater power and ask for a rulebook or listen to one's heart (the only distinguishing feature between these experiences seems to be the being/organ people ascribe them to.) If there is no alternate reality afterlife, there's a chance that souls get pushed back into new bodies, to live again.

If none of the above is true, I think that it's most probable that either there is no distinguishing feature between one's soul and one's neural impulses or else spirit-stuff disperses to reform as a part of other things when one dies, much the same as how one's atoms get dispersed and reform as other things when their molecular bonds are severed.

All of this, I'm fine with. It's new, it's progressive. Whether bits and pieces of you become bits and pieces of other things, or whether we pop around from place to place, it's something new. I'd rather not be in pain for eternity, but I might learn some more about pain. The only thing that scares me is oblivion. Cessation. Non-existance. If I ever find out, conclusively, that death does equal oblivion, I will fear it as much as anyone. Right now, I don't know what comes after. Whatever it is, it'll probably be interesting. So I'm living my life. I'd like to do as much as I can before I die, but if I can't, oh well. My motto is "Life is short. There might be something else later, but you might also live it up right now while doing right by your morals just in case."

i never had any tragic experiences with death besides when my favoritest fattest cat ever died, but when i was watching 'dead like me' i realized what death was. i mean, i already knew i and everything was going to die but i didnt actually realize this until sixth grade. i was kinda quiet from then on because i feel that im the only person who has come to this realization within my school and family. funny how tv can open your eyes so wide and close off everything else around you...

I found out about death for myself one day when I had a pet fish at a very young age. I took the fish out of it's bowl and watched as it writhed around in my hands. Then, for some weird reason, I pushed its eyes in, because they reminded me of buttons. I pushed the eyes in and the mouth opened. I closed the mouth and repeated said offense. So after I messed around with that a bit...I realized that my fish had stopped moving. It was no longer alive at this point, of course...but...I still felt a sense of regret.

Like: "Wow...I really wish I hadn't done that..."

I think I was a little out there as a kid. ^^;;