Friday 7 February 2014

It's not only about our own sufferings.

It's quite easy to sit back and complain about how miserable life can be. It can get overwhelming, I am not denying that for even a second. But personally I remind myself about how others out there are going through far worse and yet they are living their life. It helps me to clarify where I stand and to pull my thoughts together rather than letting self-pity take over me. I think one should put themselves in others shoe, just to see that it's hard out there in the real world and that it's not just an individual's suffering vs. the world. I like to remind myself just that and found these two amazing videos that really was worth the watch:
1. 

"The 16 Year Old Killer" Cyntoia's Story

"In 2004, Cyntoia Brown was arrested for the murder of a 43-year-old man. Cyntoia was a prostitute and he was her client. 

Film-maker Daniel Birman was granted unique access to Cyntoia from the week of her arrest, throughout her trial and over a period of six years. His documentary explores the tragic events in her life that led up to the murder, and Cyntoia's biological mother meets he daughter for the first time since giving her up for adoption 14 years earlier. 

The film explores the history of abuse, violence, drugs and prostitution back through three generations. As Cyntoia faces a lifetime in prison, the programme asks difficult questions about her treatment by the American justice system."

This documentary about how this teenager suffers through a major turning point in her life at such a young age and how she comes out of it, at least mentally because as you may know, she has been sentenced for life in prison. Now I am not saying she is not guilty but they did have strong arguments about how she shot the man out of sheer fear for her own life. How her mental stability was in question given how rough her childhood in general has been. It really does beg the question that whether they should just be locked up in the prison and be forgotten. Few weeks back in this social science course, Prospect and Perils of 21st Century, this young fellow student discussed about how convicted criminals too have a life after they are sentenced for specified number of years/lifetime and how we forget that they even exist. It really is true that once "justice" has been served, regardless of the respective case, we do tend to forget about the person getting locked up behind bars the very next second. Same with her. They still live a life, no? I mean how much can one regret and go through living their life for the next remaining hours in the day or for that matter, the years ahead of them in prison? But she has a strong sense of who she is and how much she has to give and learn in this lifetime. Even though this epiphany may seem too late for her case, I personally take this as her greatest victory yet.

2. 

How Do YOU Define Yourself Lizzie Velasquez at TEDxAustinWomen


Very recently I found out about her from a link on Facebook as to how she is "most ugliest woman" on Earth. I did not believe the link would actually be credible and merely thought it was another troll site. It was in fact true and while I did a little bit of research as to see what she has been doing with her life, it was fairly reassuring to read about how she found comfort in her own skin and how happy she is with life at this point. The video above however truly made me connect with her on a level that I really want to hold on to. She really has a great charisma and you can tell she has a great sense of who she is and what she can do to help not only herself but those that are in doubt of themselves. I love how she glorified her upbringing and that really made me have huge respect for her parents because even when the doctors mentioned about her extremely rare condition at birth, they chose to not give up on her and gave her a life that while imaginably hard in its initial stage, it soon had its own surprises and gifts to the lovely Lizzie. 
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At nights like this, it really feels nice to relax and remind myself that while things may seem bleak and hard, they always have a silver lining. I keep saying it but it is true. Hardships can only make one strong, so as long as we don't give up. 


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