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| "No arms, no legs, no limits" ~Nick Vujicic |
In this
century, we are all pressured to by the media and stereotypes around us to be a
perfect person. Perfect, however, is not always defined as being intelligent or
kind, but rather physically attractive. Many starve themselves to be skinny and
apply make up to hide their natural features. Nicholas James Vujicic was born
with tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare disease that left him with no arms or legs.
He struggled with his disability and was endlessly bullied by other children
all throughout his childhood. Nick had always questioned why he was different
from the other children and if he was ever meant to be born, but eventually
realised that it was his unique appearance that made him special. He is now a
worldwide inspirational and motivational speaker and author.
“I don’t care
if you are a good mathematician, or a good athletic, or not good at anything-
that you think. But I’m gonna come and tell you that you’re awesome the way you
are.”
These words
were said by Nick Vujicic and it has inspired many people around the world. In
this quote, he tells everyone to just be yourself and that people will love you
for you, not your abilities or looks. He tells all of us to look deeper, pass
appearances. I too believe that we should all be who we are because if we don't,
all we are doing is restraining our happiness, lowering self-esteems and
limiting our life.
As
international students, we are often told we are privileged because we get a
fantastic education. But beyond that, we also have the ability of being economically
secure. With the amount of money we have and the freedom with which we can
spend it, we often forget that we can find happiness beyond getting a new cell
phone or a new fancy sweater. Nick Vujicic says that "You could surround
yourself with all that money can buy, and you'd still be as miserable as a
human can be…You'll find contentment when your talents and passion are
completely engaged, in full force". I think that this is an extremely true
fact and one what many people do not put an emphasis on, despite its
importance. For Nick, he found his passion through inspiring other people and
this, I believe, makes him happy. He didn't let his imperfections prevent him
from finding happiness but instead, accepted himself for who he is and moved on. Nick also once said "I know people with
perfect bodies who don't have half the happiness I've found. On my journeys
I've seen more joy in the slums of Mumbai and the orphanages of Africa than in
wealthy gated communities and on sprawling estates worth millions." What
he is trying to say is that happiness isn't about the outside appearance or how
wealthy you are, but if you have accepted yourself. Nick often uses himself as
an example of this in his speeches. He is definitely not what you would call
'perfect', due to missing his four limbs, but Nick never lets this flaw get in
his way. Instead, he embraces his imperfection and according to him, that is
what makes him smile and laugh everyday, that he managed to overcome this
challenge and is able to inspire others. Nick's happiness comes from doing what
he loves, not his appearances and I think that this is something we should all
learn from.
Statistics
show that 50% of teens inflict self-harm upon themselves due to low self-esteem
and self-image issues. Nick was no exception to this and suffered depression
when he was eight years old and by the time he was ten, had tried to drown
himself but couldn't go trough with it as he loved his parents too much. As he
grew up, he realised that it was about how he perceived himself and no one
else's opinion mattered. What Nick had come to realised not only helped him to
be a happier person but changed his entire life as well. He finally understood
that just because he wasn't physically perfect didn't mean that he couldn't
achieve his dreams. With that thought in mind, Nick fought through his
depression and self-image issues and is now a man of high self-esteem and
appreciation. Learning from his experience, Nick said "There's no point in
being complete on the outside when you're broken in the inside." I
strongly believe in this statement that being attractive isn't worth your
self-esteem and life. No one should think that they aren't good enough based on
their looks. Nick's own experiences clearly prove that there is much more
beyond appearances and that being unique isn't always bad.
Nowadays, many
people are also limiting themselves due to believing that they aren't good
enough. "At first I was not willing to confront that what was really wrong
with me wasn't my body, it was the limits I put on myself and my limited vision
of the possibilities for my life." These were the words of Nick Vujicic
when recounting his struggle to 'figure himself out'. Before this, Nick was
suicidal and lost about who he was and what he was going to do with his life.
He continuously judged himself based on other people and was convinced that he
was useless. But when Nick's mother showed him an article about a man also
dealing with a severe disability, Nick realised that he wasn't the only one
going through this and that if that man managed to live his dream and accept
himself at the same time, so could he. After Nick stopped limiting and doubting
himself, he said to others in one of his many inspirational speeches “In life
you have a choice: Bitter or Better? Choose better, forget bitter.” In this
quote, Nick tries to tell others that criticizing and self deprecation only
creates bitter thoughts that limit you. He believes that we always have an
option of simply acknowledging that not everything can be 'perfect' and move
on. This is exactly what Nick did with his life and now, he makes the best out
of his unique situation to inspire others.
Nick is an
inspiration to all of us. Whether we are tall or short, skinny or fat, looking
beautiful or having a bad day, Nick tells us to appreciate life and to be
positive and happy. He shows us that by believing in ourselves, we can achieve
more than we think we can, and even surprise ourselves with abilities we didn’t
know we had. Most importantly, however, Nick teaches us that the fact that we
are here, on this planet, sharing our lives with people we love and doing the
things we enjoy, is enough of a miracle to keep living.
Citations:
http://justmotivated.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/nick-vujicic-i-love-living-life.jpg
