There are a great many things we all want to do but they aren’t always safe and there’s no guarantee you will come out unscathed. If you were immortal for a day, would you do the things that fear has always stopped you from doing? The Week asked a few people about the things they would do if they were granted immortality for just one day.

Smriti Phuyal, Student
I have always been fascinated by the ocean. Diving underwater to see corals and playing with different types of sea animals, fish as well as observe the life underwater has been in the bucket list for years. However, as one has to train for several days in order to sea dive, I have never had the time (also, the fact that Nepal doesn’t have beaches or oceans doesn’t help either). And so, if I were immortal for a day, I would go deep underwater, without using any equipment and hang out inside the ocean all day. I’d maybe pop out of the ocean like a dolphin for a few minutes to catch my breath, but other than that I’d experience the aquatic life first hand.

Swechhya Raut, Journalist
I know a lot of people dream of doing either impossible or dangerous and adventurous things if they get the boon that they will not hurt themselves or die no matter what they do. I don’t really wish to spend the one day I get to be immortal doing things that would only benefit me. Instead wouldn’t it be great if I could donate my organs to people in critical life-and-death situations who are in need of these body parts to survive. Since I am immortal (for that day at least), I’m guessing all of the organs I’ve donated would actually revitalize and, at the end of the day, I would still have a fully functioning body. That would be awesome. 

Juliyana Shah, Journalist
Since childhood I have been very curious to know what volcanic eruption looks like in real life and if I were immortal for a day, I would definitely go and watch it. Also, I would go swimming deep under the sea. I have always thought that it would be amazing to explore the underwater world without worrying about drowning, sharks and other dangerous creatures. And last but not the least, I would do each and every thing that scares me a lot like bungee jumping, riding in the world’s biggest roller coaster, diving from the mountain and petting a snake.

Gaurav Tamang, Student
Presuming that the power of immortality also allows for regeneration of my bodily parts (as I’m not supposed to die, no matter what), I would donate a lot of blood as well as any other organ like the kidney, the heart, the lungs or the liver to people who need it. However, this may increase the risk of me being turned into a scientific specimen for research. The best way to do a good deed would be to sell my organs on the black market, earn a lot of money and, in the process, help root out the underground organ trafficking ring in Nepal. And mind you, I’d do all of this in a single day. If I can’t die, I have nothing to lose.

Anagat Pokharel, Student
I’ve always wanted to jump off a cliff but never had the guts to actually do this because I think – in case I do end up dying – dying by plummeting to your death would actually be very painful. So, I’d do this on the day I’m immortal. I’m also very interested in learning more about underwater creatures that haven’t been discovered or identified yet. So, I would jump into an ocean and swim to its depths to find such creatures and learn about them. This might sound silly but I’ve also wondered what it would feel like to get hit by a moving vehicle. So, I would also jump in front of a big moving vehicle on the main road and get hit by it if I’m promised immortality for a day.

Kumudini Pant, Online marketing manager
I would probably jump off a skyscraper. Go skydiving without a parachute. Go deep sea diving. Try rock climbing without ropes. Get lost in a forest. Find wild animals and try to become friends with them. And maybe win them over with my shenanigans because I can’t be hurt. I would love to learn how to survive in a jungle. Have loyal animal sidekicks. Build myself a tree house. I could live there. Never return. Responsibility? What responsibility? I wouldn’t really care about  humanity either. Growing up sucks. I want to be Tarzan and have a gorilla mom. Wait…what were we talking about again? See what the mere mention of immortality does to me. I’m sure it has that effect on everyone.

 
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