What are you doing here? what are all of us doing here?

This week, the most common question at work was "You've graduated, what are you doing here?" As if me getting a job after school is such a rare occurrence. I admit, I don't feel that I'll have a career in selling shoes but for what it's worth, I am so grateful to have a job right now. I still plan on taking the gmat on the 28, that's exactly 10 days to finish my preparations and take that silly exam! Then I'll know what sort of schools will accept based on that score.This week I was wading through facebook to kill time and I happened across an article pitting two different animal rights organization against each other. One organization fights on the grounds that animals should have a right to live and have life. The other proposes that the manner in which animals are raised and harvested is cruel and invokes suffering. The authors criticism was directed at the latter group saying that if animals rights are not considered, then factory style farming could be justified to alleviate suffering of people who are hungry.
Here's my question, what rights? Does a mosquito have rights? If he does then animal rights activist ought not to swat them when bitten. How about a parasite? A worm living in your body should have the right to live even if it causes you to suffer? How about single celled organisms that are technically animals? Can we no longer wash our hands for fear of killing just such animals? Where do we then draw the line?

I propose that animal rights activists forget the whole big picture. The circle of life. As so eloquently put by the lion king movie by disney, "we eat the antelope and when we die, the grass eats us and then the antelope eats the grass"
Eventually we all die. Most of us will human beings will live, consume, procreate and die with out having accomplished anything of notable good. Of course history is full of exceptions, extraordinary people who have accomplished extraordinary things. And I also believe that one of the highest callings in life is that of your family relations. but for billions of us people, our lives are like dust in the wind.

When animals die, at least they have an opportunity to do so much good. They are used for food, clothing, cosmetics, medicine, tools and many other uses. And my personal favorite use, the wing tipped shoe.
This being said, I feel that instead of trying to prolong animal lives and give their lives no meaning or purpose, that would should be grateful. That's right, grateful that their lives have filled a higher purpose than that of just existing. They're existence greatly improves our own. Is this not why we thank God at the dinner table? for the plants and animals that give us, and enhance our lives? The bounty of the meal?

Now, I feel that some of the practices are unnecessary. Factory farming as it is called nowadays has put some animals through horrible living conditions before they die. But regardless, even under the most optimal conditions, a chicken will still be born, grow, and die whether or not a human or a wild animal cuts its life short.

All of these things have me think, will my life any purpose? If I were to die today what good will my existence have caused in any other living thing. I think that's a question we could all answer. Again, I feel like families are a noble cause in our lives. To love, support and help families. But then again, isn't our whole human race part of our family? What have I done to improve the lives around me?
So my question today is, what are you doing here? what are we all doing here?