What is the Purpose of Life?

I know this is one of the cheesiest questions to have been asked, but I really must know. I have remained clueless for the past few years of my life on why biological existence is present. I've thought that each level of maturity prepared us for the next level. Like this:

Toddler's get taught on how to walk, talk and socialize, which prepared them for Preschool. Preschool, then prepares them for Elementary school, which prepares them for Middle School, then High School, Then College. After college the individual works for their survival and retirement. Then you reach the end. What does retirement prepare you for? Everything stops when death arrives. And when you die, then what? Has everything you worked for over the past lifetime gone to naught? You become a blatant memory.

So I ask you people. Why do you believe we are here?

your purpose in life is whatever you want it to be.

The purpose of life is to figure out the purpose of life.

Life has no purpose. You have to make your own.

The purpose of life is to enjoy the life itself. We are at times too concerned about the future, our job and relationships, and we forget to enjoy the ride.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J34VN2gu2wA

This animation short (by the genius Don Hertzfeldt) may exemplify what I mean

Cheese!

It's always worked for me. Though really, I see no point. But it doesn't need a point for me to do it.
Thus the point of life, is to live.

Motive is a human concept and thus trying to attribute a purpose behind what is probably a natural phenomenon is rather futile. It's like asking what objective the wind blowing is meant to achieve.

Making the best out of it and purging the world of evil.

Life is waiting room for oblivion. Read a magazine, enjoy the company and then get scared then when it's your name being called.

i don't know maybe... to keep the human race from extinction, just a hunch.

but when you think about it we don't lead a simple life like our pets we have to worry about everything you know, dishes, laundry, work, school, and then we all lead the same life day after day so now you have me wondering that.

to become apart of the collective human thought machine and lose all sense of individuality and self?

yes, that must be it.

Survival. All life clings to what it must use to survive, in desperate situations, humans do as best thay can.

Other than that, what would motivate someone to make themselves feel bad? If there is a purpose, it must be positive and lead to happiness, somewhat.

Counter-question: why do you get up in the morning?

The answer is different for everyone.

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
Theodore Roosevelt
26th president of US (1858 - 1919)

This is what i define as my personal purpose in life, along with having a lot of fun.

Originally Posted by UltraLight

To serve God.

And then this degrades into another Religion vs Agnostic/Atheism thread.

The purpose of life, biologically, is to further the species, and continuously make it prosper. But right now, humans are a bit too prosperous. Overpopulation is a serious problem this planet faces, so I wouldn't follow the genetic law of furthering the species right now.

I would personally say that the purpose of life is whatever you make of it.

There is no one purpose in life. Your purpose is whatever you want it to be.

I'd say most people's basic purpose is to simply be happy.

There may very well be a purpose to life, but you'll probably never find it. so don't waste your time on it and enjoy yourself. Yay absurdism!

I pretty much agree with everyone else who has said that life doesn't really have an inherent, higher purpose to it. At this point in my life, I think we create our own meaning.

I learned this in church. The purpose of life is to learn to have "Joy". To find out what morals really are (learning what is right and what is wrong).

The purpose of life is to rise above our natural biology and become something post-human; to become gods.

We will achieve this soon if we abandon any pointless moral stance that conflicts with scientific or technological progress.