“Two Gun” Crowley was one of the most dangerous and deadliest killers in American history. He was notorious for being known as a cop killer and a ruthless gun fighter, and was finally captured in his sweethearts apartment battling out one hundred police officers and detectives. When he knew that the end was near, Crowley wrote a letter “to whom it may concern” and to quote him directly, said this, “Under my coat is a weary heart, but a kind one-one that would do nobody any harm”.

Crowley thought he was a good man. And it was this man, which held himself in such high regard, that also gunned downed a police officer, first in a shower of lead from his own gun, then with the policemen’s own revolver, all unprovoked and after being asked for his licence.

You may be thinking why I brought this up. Well in all aspects of life, this is an example of how people view themselves. We all in some way shape or form think that what we are doing and what we have done is for a good reason.

My whole life I thought that our mindset is what distinguishes us from our bad side, but in reality it is our actions. While discussing with my mates, away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, we talked about the true meaning of being a good person and a good Christian. With an interesting turn in discussion we concluded that despite our intelligence and understanding of what we know the world to be, we don’t actually know anything at all, in the grand scheme of things. We don’t know what’s out there, whether aliens exist or if there really is a heaven or a hell. All we know is what we can do.

You see, despite the world not being split into good people and death eaters, what constitutes a person acting the way they act is what they think of themselves. Crowley thought he was standing up for himself, but the world will forever know him as a vicious criminal. All because of what he had done to leave his mark on this world. Our mark is not always a reflection of our mindset but what matters is whether or not that mindset made the world a better place or not.

We must realise that everyone has their reasons, good or bad, whatever they may be, that has caused them to act the way they have and be the way they are. There is no denying the complexity of the human mind and its experience, but in all the confusion, the one thing that we can count on, is ourselves. We can be responsible for our mark, what we leave behind. And while we may mess up, we may also thrive from the depths of despair. What we choose to do is the defining moment in our day to day lives and whether that be to produce good and reflect our yearning to be the best version of ourselves, or whether that be how Crowley was, to kill and cause suffering, then that is our choice.