...The Lucky Ones

I just watched Freedom Writers a few minutes ago and I loved it. It's an awe inspiring story about a new teacher's noble pursuit to find these kids a future and a home amongst gangs, racial sects and a constant fear of death. It was very touching in my opinion, and it's definitely now one of my favourite movies. It just makes me think how many people are out there and what kind of lives they live. I know I'm here living in a developed country where everything is all right and the only choices we have to make are desalinated or recycled water. This is me, one of the millions of lucky ones. Watching that movie although inspired me to do something with my life, made me feel kind of insignificant. Those kids in the movie, who are MY AGE, live by a code to protect their own, to them surviving one day is graduating. They are the heroes. What am I? One of the lucky ones. I am grateful for my life, but I just wonder what is my significance in this world? What am I called to do?

I'm one of the lucky ones.

There are people who are either extremely successful, living the high life, living wealthy and making themselves known and respected with the talents they have. And then there are the people who live amongst the bottom half of life, who live in poverty who you want to sympathise for, but can't because even if you give them money out of compassion and kindness, they'll simply use it to buy another round of alcohol.

It's a vicious cycle.

I walk passed these people everyday. People sit by the station and drink their lives away or surreptitiously exchange money for drugs. There are slack-mouthed women who have two or three children under the age of five sitting with her, watching and hearing her swear at another random, only to grow and become slack-mouthed, booze drinking people who live off tax-payer's money. It is once again a vicious cycle, because we all know that those mothers have their babies for the $4000 baby bonus from the government which is spent on alcohol or something similar anyway. And this is where the growing society will come from, because all the smart and intelligent women who are actually doing something with their lives are choosing a career before a family. They'll become the successful wealthy people respected for their talent, whilst the other half of society will sit there and wonder where they went wrong, when they never did any wrong. They were just never given the chance to do any good. It's sad as I walk past, go to my expensive private school and wonder how why the world revolves the way it does. There are those who dress in black with heavy make up and numerous piercings (I refuse to label them as society does) standing 25 metres away from those people with the booze. They converse about the latest band that's currently the best in punk rock or death metal. They talk about how the world sucks and not them, they pretend to have a supreme understanding about it and that's what makes them cynical. The world sucks, no one cares, there is no love. That's one side of the bloody story, perhaps they can't see the other side themselves, or perhaps it has for some reason been obscured to them. Love actually is alive within the hearts of those who want to reach out to the baby booming booze drinkers, but can't because it would be of no use and they wouldn't be able to afford it anyway - they need it to support their own family, pay their mortgage, pay for their children's expensive schooling and pay the taxes that give those people a home.

There's the rich, there's the poor and there's us, the lucky ones.

We're the lucky ones who are grateful to be living in such a country. I witness the good and the bad and watch the events as they fly by. We're the normal who go by their lives everyday concerning themselves with only the political things, how much bills they have to pay and their kids' science homework. We all watch the wealthy fall from their pedestal and the poor rise to the top - the inspiring stories that the normals can't relate to because they're too normal. We've gone by everyday, day-to-day swimming like fish in an endless sea of uncertainty trying to find ourselves amongst, life, work, school and homework.

My concerns about school, projects, vanity, stress, pride, reputation just seem all in vain now as I contemplate this. I think what everyone really wants in life is complete and utter contentment, because that's the ultimate freedom, the ultimate happiness. I have many dreams, so many things I want to be remembered by so even if I leave this earth, I would have made an imprint of significance in my pilgrim life.

There's so much to do and such little time to do it. It's now that I truly appreciate the gravity of that phrase.