One long thought bubble...
Kinda long, but just some thoughts I wanted to share from an application for my Alternative Spring Break trip to New Orleans (that I wrote and turned in 3 hours! Always start early on things guys...luckily I had my college entrance essay to draw off of for the first essay answer, as well as some inspiration left behind from one of our sorely missed rockstar @ers studying abroad in Quito, Ecuador :o)
1. What is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen?
While the thing I consider to be the most beautiful in this world is, not surprisingly, intangible, its essence can be captured in a snapshot. On a 6-month backpacking trip across South America, my friend Felipe took a picture of a rather large pile of animal waste. On top of the large brown pile that anyone would have initially turned away from, stood the most gorgeous blue and green butterfly imaginable. The theory/philosophy he extracted? Life can be shit sometimes, but there's always something beautiful on top of it.
More specifically, the butterfly has come to symbolize a perpetual hope I see in children and in life. An old belief of mine was that children living with certain limitations, whether it be financial, societal, physical or otherwise, must also have limited happiness. I challenged myself to see beyond the initial impressions to observe how the people lived, to seek the extraordinary in the ordinary, to discover the majestic in the prosaic.
Children create joy out of what we may see as nothing, and I felt compelled to take something out of my humbling experiences with them. The commonality among kids is visible in their eyes. Visualizations emerge of children running around and chickens to fly bright orange kites in the slums of Morocco, of dozens of children playing soccer with a flat empty water bottle in the favela slums of Brazil, of children washing clothes and bathing in the Nile, of children making games of rope and cardboard as they run around our legs at night in India. Indeed, the pure, innocent nature of these children is not one of defeat nor frustration. The spirit of these kids and their fortitude often falls shadow to the limitations we assign them. The true miracle lies beyond their confines, that they still find opportunities to laugh and play as children despite the extent of their circumstance.
What they understand about life many of us might never, as they seem to focus on things many of us have forgotten. With limited privileges, some children must look to something else, something they already have to be grateful for. Everything is precious, and it is indeed the small things that keep them going. Limitations are not perceived by those living with them, but rather by the onlooker. Where one might see mud villages, a world built of dust, or a lifetime confined to a wheelchair, the kids see just another opportunity to seek laughter or get to know the person helping them.
After witnessing gut-wrenching poverty, stepping onto planes within the days after both successful and unsuccessful acts of terrorism and sometimes heading to those exact places, hearing from many friends from places I just traveled to or almost went to that were bombed, visiting the ground zero of 9/11, Hiroshima, and SARS in Hong Kong, it's easy to lose yourself in the emotions of fear and confusion. Yet I can now say that no matter what the conditions are, no how much life may to be shit, rest assured, there is a butterfly. There is always something beautiful to hope and strive for. It is this conviction in the eyes and laughter of the children that inspires me, a concept I continue to perceive as the most beautiful thing I will always see.
I can still recall the lazy Sunday morning during my freshman spring break when I awoke to my dad's stereo across the hall peacefully blasting, I Hope You Dance, by Lee Ann Womack. As I listened to the song I recalled from years past, I did something I hadn't done in a long time I listened to each word. And when you get the chance to sit it out or dance...I hope you daaance. The song speaks of opportunities, of taking risks and making mistakes, never taking anything for granted, of holding onto your sense of wonder, of feeling small next to the ocean, of faith and loving, of never looking back on your years and wondering what happened...of dancing.
That particular morning had proceeded the hardest 24 hours of my life. Having just experienced two wakes, two funerals, and two burials of my high school friends who had not yet turned 20, that Sunday morning was the first I awoke no longer resisting the painful reality. What happened in the car accident many days prior was something none of us could reverse. It jolts you to your core when you realize that something so abrupt could happen without any warning. I seek comfort in the fact that two girls I knew for so many years fully lived out their lives, that they would always be a testament of how to dance through life. Their crazy laughs and beaming smiles will always remain in the forefront of my memory of them, and provided an opportunity from which to extract some valuable life lessons and reflect.
Many of my major decisions I make by asking myself if I would honestly regret not following a certain path. In retrospect, there are not many decisions I can say I regret making. My life has not in the least been perfect, but I am confident that whatever I did or will do, I have or will put my full self into it. As my college adviser told me a few days ago while I wrestled with a decision, that you can never go wrong if you follow your passion. Another counselor told me that no matter what path I decide for myself, that I should make it the same way I do with everything. Both saw after years of advising that if I am not impassioned about what I am doing or am void of the opportunity to build genuine, compassionate relationships, it's not something I am going to enjoy. I would like to perceive that as part of me who dances at each opportunity I seek.
Hope has always been my favorite word, as has faith. When I get the chance to sit it out or dance, I always dance. I take risks. I am constantly amazed in awe. I continue to feel small in the presence of so many things, like something as great and as vast as the ocean. I get my fill to eat, but always keep a hunger. There is always another door (not just a window) when one door closes. I don't think there is anything that can leave me bitter. I don't wait through my life, I live it. Every single word Lee Ann Womack sings rings true for how I want to live my life and how I think life should be. This is the reason why I can relate so much to this song, as my dad reintroduced it at a time I greatly needed it. It's is the reason I wish I wrote it, to be able to provide that inspiration and self reflection on life for someone else.
...more of a reflection on this and its connection to AIESEC very, very soon next chance I get to sit down and write it out....
1. What is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen?
While the thing I consider to be the most beautiful in this world is, not surprisingly, intangible, its essence can be captured in a snapshot. On a 6-month backpacking trip across South America, my friend Felipe took a picture of a rather large pile of animal waste. On top of the large brown pile that anyone would have initially turned away from, stood the most gorgeous blue and green butterfly imaginable. The theory/philosophy he extracted? Life can be shit sometimes, but there's always something beautiful on top of it.
More specifically, the butterfly has come to symbolize a perpetual hope I see in children and in life. An old belief of mine was that children living with certain limitations, whether it be financial, societal, physical or otherwise, must also have limited happiness. I challenged myself to see beyond the initial impressions to observe how the people lived, to seek the extraordinary in the ordinary, to discover the majestic in the prosaic.
Children create joy out of what we may see as nothing, and I felt compelled to take something out of my humbling experiences with them. The commonality among kids is visible in their eyes. Visualizations emerge of children running around and chickens to fly bright orange kites in the slums of Morocco, of dozens of children playing soccer with a flat empty water bottle in the favela slums of Brazil, of children washing clothes and bathing in the Nile, of children making games of rope and cardboard as they run around our legs at night in India. Indeed, the pure, innocent nature of these children is not one of defeat nor frustration. The spirit of these kids and their fortitude often falls shadow to the limitations we assign them. The true miracle lies beyond their confines, that they still find opportunities to laugh and play as children despite the extent of their circumstance.
What they understand about life many of us might never, as they seem to focus on things many of us have forgotten. With limited privileges, some children must look to something else, something they already have to be grateful for. Everything is precious, and it is indeed the small things that keep them going. Limitations are not perceived by those living with them, but rather by the onlooker. Where one might see mud villages, a world built of dust, or a lifetime confined to a wheelchair, the kids see just another opportunity to seek laughter or get to know the person helping them.
After witnessing gut-wrenching poverty, stepping onto planes within the days after both successful and unsuccessful acts of terrorism and sometimes heading to those exact places, hearing from many friends from places I just traveled to or almost went to that were bombed, visiting the ground zero of 9/11, Hiroshima, and SARS in Hong Kong, it's easy to lose yourself in the emotions of fear and confusion. Yet I can now say that no matter what the conditions are, no how much life may to be shit, rest assured, there is a butterfly. There is always something beautiful to hope and strive for. It is this conviction in the eyes and laughter of the children that inspires me, a concept I continue to perceive as the most beautiful thing I will always see.
The legendary Mt. Everest provided a fitting backdrop for the day I saw beyond the mountainous wonder to observe how the people lived...and found such inspiration in one adorable Tibetan girl. (Me, my aunt, the local girl who lives nearby, my mom, and my sister....our stop at Mt. Everest Base Camp on our Tibet trip, summer 2004).
2. Which book or song do you most wish you'd written?
I can still recall the lazy Sunday morning during my freshman spring break when I awoke to my dad's stereo across the hall peacefully blasting, I Hope You Dance, by Lee Ann Womack. As I listened to the song I recalled from years past, I did something I hadn't done in a long time I listened to each word. And when you get the chance to sit it out or dance...I hope you daaance. The song speaks of opportunities, of taking risks and making mistakes, never taking anything for granted, of holding onto your sense of wonder, of feeling small next to the ocean, of faith and loving, of never looking back on your years and wondering what happened...of dancing.
That particular morning had proceeded the hardest 24 hours of my life. Having just experienced two wakes, two funerals, and two burials of my high school friends who had not yet turned 20, that Sunday morning was the first I awoke no longer resisting the painful reality. What happened in the car accident many days prior was something none of us could reverse. It jolts you to your core when you realize that something so abrupt could happen without any warning. I seek comfort in the fact that two girls I knew for so many years fully lived out their lives, that they would always be a testament of how to dance through life. Their crazy laughs and beaming smiles will always remain in the forefront of my memory of them, and provided an opportunity from which to extract some valuable life lessons and reflect.
Many of my major decisions I make by asking myself if I would honestly regret not following a certain path. In retrospect, there are not many decisions I can say I regret making. My life has not in the least been perfect, but I am confident that whatever I did or will do, I have or will put my full self into it. As my college adviser told me a few days ago while I wrestled with a decision, that you can never go wrong if you follow your passion. Another counselor told me that no matter what path I decide for myself, that I should make it the same way I do with everything. Both saw after years of advising that if I am not impassioned about what I am doing or am void of the opportunity to build genuine, compassionate relationships, it's not something I am going to enjoy. I would like to perceive that as part of me who dances at each opportunity I seek.
Hope has always been my favorite word, as has faith. When I get the chance to sit it out or dance, I always dance. I take risks. I am constantly amazed in awe. I continue to feel small in the presence of so many things, like something as great and as vast as the ocean. I get my fill to eat, but always keep a hunger. There is always another door (not just a window) when one door closes. I don't think there is anything that can leave me bitter. I don't wait through my life, I live it. Every single word Lee Ann Womack sings rings true for how I want to live my life and how I think life should be. This is the reason why I can relate so much to this song, as my dad reintroduced it at a time I greatly needed it. It's is the reason I wish I wrote it, to be able to provide that inspiration and self reflection on life for someone else.
...more of a reflection on this and its connection to AIESEC very, very soon next chance I get to sit down and write it out....
posted by Cynthia at
5:02 PM
3 Comments:
That's so cool!!! I lived in Champaign for more than one year and I didn't even know that there was a @ there!! Today, I live in Brazil and I'm so glad that I got to know @!!
Work hard, guys!!!
I thoroughly skimmed this during this EB meeting, which is wrong i know, but it was worth it.
This was beautiful Cynthia.
You've impacted me now.
The Gold’s gyms in College Station offer lot of services that can help you get into a routine.
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