Being alive: only requires you're breathing, conscious, putting food in your food hole, and not dead yet.
"Truly" living is more subjective. It's more about fulfillment. Ever see that romantic comedy that when it starts the main character is just eating, working, and sleeping all alone? Then they meet the love of their life and suddenly they're doing all that great stuff they passed up on due to fear and routine? Truly living is 50% doing all of those things and 50% changing your day-to-day routine into what you really want it to be. For some people that means "defying" society's rules and doing what makes them happy. For others, it's climbing a corporate ladder. Only you really know how it would apply to your life.