The Silent Critic

One of the most recent humans our class has been observing is a man named Roger Ebert. Before reading this article: http://www.esquire.com/features/roger-ebert-0310, his name really meant nothing to me. I remembered him as "Ebert and Roeper," always mixing the name up in my head and concluding that they were one person. Also images of him nodding his head on TV, and me thinking it was some part of a comic act that was never so funny to me...

Well, I'm glad I never laughed at that TV bit...

The article informed its readers of Mr. Ebert's ongoing battle from cancer, which has involved several operations, including ones which removed his lower jaw and erasing his ability to speak, and ones which have left a portion of his throat completely exposed. Needless to say, everyday of his life is an ongoing battle with death.

Reading about his experiences only made me wonder, "why hasn't he given up yet?" This man can not talk or eat, show emotions openly, or even frown... His best friend died of cancer over 10 years ago and even if he wanted to complain, the only way he could would be through feverish typing onto his Macbook Pro. I know if I were in his position, well, there would be more articles of my early death than my prolonged struggle.

From these opposite perspectives regarding the article, I took away 3 things.

1. I may have been proven wrong from my last post, that is, the human spirit may only be prominent when you're staring death in the face.

2. Happiness is the most powerful emotion.

3. The human will to live should always be stronger than their wish to die.

This article gave me the inspiration to live happier, love harder, and to always speak up. You never know when you may have given up your last opportunity to smile.

My Thoughts? Someone Cares?!

"Humanity/hope/human spirit..." It's funny how 4 words can bring a flood of emotion and triggered memories soaring back into your brain.

As of now, I understand that we (as a class) will be exploring the different aspects of hope throughout a person's lifetime, and how that hope and emotion changes when humans have different experiences. Although to me, this unit is taking a step beyond my comfort zone by making me think about the one thing i dread the most (besides running): death.

Everything we have discussed ultimately ends up in a person's impending doom, and how they decide to handle it. Don't get ahead of yourselves, I understand the differences trying to be portrayed (as in how every human will eventually die and those compared to the ones who know when their clock will stop ticking). I'm trying to say that the human spirit relies on more than just the overall aspect of death, or even severe misfortune.

As for the rest of this unit, I would like to discover the roots of hope in an individual, and what makes hope vary among different individuals.

Am I shooting for the moon? Maybe, but I'm hoping I'll at least land amongst the stars.

Oh, Hai, Hello.

Who am I? I've been trying to figure that out for a while...

As of now, I am Hannah Osman; a 16 year old with an old soul but a young heart. My favorite hobby is making someone's day, and I don't have a favorite color. I have no idea what I want to do when I'm older, but unlike many people, I think it's better that way.

I am currently a part of the second round of the Gifted and Talented Seminar in NBCRHS, which is a class designed to test our mental capabilities, seeing if we can think outside the "box we are put in throughout high school." Right now we are looking at certain aspects of humanity and examining emotions experienced when a human knows death is in their near future.

This topic is very unsettling to me, and this blog will show you the many, many thoughts that run through my clouded mind.