The Journey Part 2
- Allan Tsai
- Jan 6, 2017
- 6 min read
[ Trigger Warning: This post mentions the Louisiana Flooding and Pulse Nightclub Shooting. If any of these topics trigger any emotional distress, please skip over Sections 3 and 4, respectively.]
Welcome back to Origins! Today's special post will introduce and preview some of the themes Origins will expand on and, also, recap some of the defining moments and themes of 2016. There are 7 topics in total so prepare for a meaningful yet lengthy post.
1. Body Image/Body Confidence
2016 was a huge year for the themes of body image and body confidence. The world has these "standards" for what it means to be beautiful but the huge problem is that very few people fit these "standards". From a young age, girls are told to be skinny to be pretty or you have to have the curves of those on a magazine but the reality is you don't. Loving yourself and your body for what it is is all you need to be pretty. You don't need to starve yourself, the Instagram filters, or the photoshopped curves to be pretty.
Taryn Brumfitt tackles this global issue by creating the Body Image Movement and a fiercely real documentary called Embrace. Watch the trailer below:
All Credit goes to Taryn Brumfitt and the Body Image Movement
JCPenny also tackles this issue with the #HereIAm campaign. Watch the inspiring video below:
All credit goes to JCPenny for this video
The reality is, the world is not a one size fits all place. We need to be more accepting of people who don't fit the standard definition of beauty.
2. #FemalePower
It's a man's man's man's world. Well, 8 years ago. Today, women are stepping into the spotlight more and more. Just last year, we had a female be one of the 2 nominees running for the White House, an all-female lead cast for the Ghostbusters movie and females take the lead roles in shows like Supergirl, Quantico and The 100. Women are really owning it and showing they can be more than the moms and models of society. They can be whoever they aspire to be and it is okay to go after a something where males have been the dominating force.
Jessie Graff is someone who exemplifies the theme of females rising to the top. She became the first women to finish Stage 1 of the National Finals on American Ninja Warrior- a show once dominated by males. Check out her historical run below:
All credit goes to NBC American Ninja Warrior.
Jessie's story shows, in a man's world, women can!
3. Louisiana Flooding
Imagine losing the last photo you took with your mom before she passed away. Wouldn't that be devastating? That was one of the harsh realities of the Louisiana flooding last year. People were throwing away (and losing) their photos and memories because the flood damaged everything.
Kimberly Viator decided to step up to the plate and help these people. She asked the people of Southern Louisiana to send her photos that were damaged by the flood. With more than 30+ years of experience in photo restoration, Kimberly tried to repair as many photos as possible and, with her extraordinary effort, countless number of photos were saved. All this work was done for free. Yes, for free.
Kimberly's story reminds us to be hopeful, even in the most adverse times. You have to hold out hope that something or someone is going to make a difference to make things better.
4. Pulse Nightclub Shooting
The Pulse Nightclub shooting was one of the most tragic and heartbreaking events in 2016. This next inspirational individual reminds us love is what brings people together, not hate or violence.
Greg Zanis captivated people's hearts when he made memorial crosses for all 49 victims of the Pulse shooting. According to the Chicago Tribune, Zanis spent 2 days (approximately 30 hours) building the crosses, before leaving for Orlando to set up the memorial. The memorial honored the lives of those lost.
Zanis's story is truly inspirational but this wasn't the first time he has done something of this nature. He has made memorial crosses for victims of other shootings, like the one in Aurora and the one in Columbine High School. He says, "The crosses are a way for people to remember the names of the victims. Nobody wants their loved one to be forgotten."
5. Disabilities
There is a stigma in society surrounding people with disabilities. We live in a world where people think hiring someone with a disability is "extra" or "too much work" and we need to change that. Thankfully, in 2016, the trend towards how we view these people is headed towards change. For one, Mindy Scheier launched an adaptive clothing line for people with disabilities. In another instance, Rising Tide Car Wash hires people who have autism. Rising Tide's inspirational message of acceptance was featured in Starbucks's Upstanders series last year. Check out the video below:
Credit to Starbucks and their Upstanders series
We have to change how we view people with disabilities; they have the ability to make a difference, if given the chance. (I truly believe that.)
6. Mental Health
Another issue that is stigmatized in society is the topic of mental health. I think people really need to open their minds and take some time to understand this issue. That is one of the reasons why I created Origins. I wanted to create a multi-purpose platform that relates to people and raise awareness on multiple topics, with one being mental health. For the sake of this section of the post, I won't be sharing my story (I plan to later on) or going into any specifics. I will be talking about mental health from a general perspective.
Mental health is something that affects millions of people everyday. It's something that a lot of people suffer in silence with (and, in worst cases, die from) because not many people take their time to understand it. Depression, for example, is widely known to people as being sad (and something you can snap out of in a instant). Scientifically, depression is a chemical imbalance in the brain. It's not something that cures instantly; in some cases, it can take months or it can be chronic. Mental health is also something that anyone can face. No matter how ordinary or extraordinary you are, you have the potential of facing it. Upworthy wrote an article on 31 celebrities who faced mental health issues in 2016. (Check it out here.) You are not alone; anyone can face it and it can even take down the greatest.
During 2016, there have been a handful of individuals that have started turning the tide of how we view mental health. I think we need to share our stories so people can start understanding this epidemic in society and, also, use our stories to relate to other people who are struggling with mental health. The battle of mental health should not be fought alone. One of the individuals who shared their story last year was Amber Smith and I commend her for doing so! Check out this video down below that summarizes Amber's story.
Credit to The Mighty for the video
7.Helping the Homeless
Homelessness is an overwhelming problem that continues to grow around the world today. However, a number of people making a difference to this problem in some way. I chose 2 of the most interesting and creative approaches to share with you.
Simon Rowe tackles this issue with the Sleepbus. The Sleepbus is a bus that provides homeless families and individuals a safe and calming place to sleep. It's basically a homeless shelter on wheels. The bus is filled with pods that includes a TV, bed, heating/air controls along with other amenities.
The next approach comes from Orange Sky Laundry created by Nic Marchesi and Lucas Patchett. They created a mobile laundry service, using vans, that provides clean laundry to the low-income and homeless, free of charge. Each van is loaded with 2 washers and 2 dryers and driven to places with people in need. Volunteers help people, in need, wash clothes for free. Nic and Lucas won the "Young Australian of the Year" for this idea.
I like how the individuals above rethought the conventional and I loved how they didn't just focus on the food element. A lot of people, when they tackle the issue of homelessness, think food is the number one focus but there are other, equally important, parts to the problem that should also be addressed ( sleep, clean clothes, health, job opportunities, etc.). When approaching the problem of homelessness, think about solving the different parts to the problem and that is where you really make a difference!
Thanks for reading this post. I hope you found this post inspiring and follow Origins on social media for updates! Come back next Thursday for more content!
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[ Note: The stories featured in this post are taken from my list of inspirational people. If you are new to my blog, please see the post Copyright and Fair Use to learn more about the policies Origins has.]
7. Sleepbus
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