Why Are We here?

I've been thinking for a while about what each of our purpose in life is. After all, there are two inevitabilities of life, birth and death. And then there is everything else in between. As I sit here on this chilly California evening, I've been doing a lot of reflecting on where my life has been, where I am headed etc. Lately, I've taken to asking some of my friends the same question. What is our goal? Some of my friends that I've met here recently, who have moved to the US after having grown up back home in Bangladesh, they say they are comfortable with the status quo here. Their individual goal is to make a comfortable living, achieve some semblance of the American dream, keep their jobs, get promoted, marriage, kids, buy a house etc. I repeatedly ask them why it is that after growing up in Bangladesh, they would not want to take their innate talents back home and work towards making a change. No question each of these people certainly do not lack motivation or ambition in life. They did make it through the best colleges in Bangladesh for their undergraduate education, and were able to come to the US based on sheer talent to get through graduate schools here, and then start their careers. Would these people not be the ones ultimately who would be best suited to taking back these talents to the home country? Compared to them, I have had a fairly privileged life, everything was pretty much chalked out for me in terms of where I would be headed. I was fortunate that I never had to struggle financially or emotionally as a student, with everything being handed over to my on a silver platter by my parents. The only thing expected from me was to study hard to make it through college. Also the fact that I never actually lived in Bangladesh, and therefore have always looked at it from an outsider's perspective, always thinking about the innate resilience and talents of our own people, the opportunities that can be grasped, the idea that perhaps the first part of my life was made easier so I could have to struggle, sacrifice to do better for the country? Some people strive to achieve wealth, power and privilege. What is the point of all that if one does not leave a legacy behind...? Something that says that you made a difference in even one person's life other than your own? That, is my goal and hopefully that is why I am here.