Hope

This morning I woke up happily from a really good sleep, and as usual I picked up my phone to catch up with the world. Most days I read through messages from friends, tweets from people I follow, and YouTube and Facebook updates. But not today. Today my feeds were filled with news about Paris. It took me a while, with my groggy sleep filled eyes, to register the horrible thing that happened – in a series of terrorist attack, 120 people were been killed and hundreds of others wounded in the heart of France’s capital. I spent the morning watching the news mutely, taking in the tragic scenes being broadcasted. Later in the day, I found out about the dual-bomb blast that took place in Beirut, Lebanon which claimed the lives of 44 people, and left over 200 others injured. To top it all off, I also learned of a huge earthquake that hit Japan putting the whole island to be on tsunami alert. And then later in the evening, there was a blast in Baghdad, Iraq where 26 more innocent lives were taken.

Hearing all of this made me feel a horrible mixture of emotions. First I was sad, and I thought about all those innocent people in Paris and Beirut, who were just going about their business, and are now dead. Then I felt angry. How could anyone do such terrible things? I switched between these two emotions for a while till I was hit by a feeling I liked the least – helplessness. I felt helpless because there is so much grief and horror out there in the world today and there is nothing I could do about it. I don’t know if you’ve ever felt it, but feeling like this is the absolute worst because it’s as if you have lost all hope. It was like the world was (literally) crumbling around me, and in that moment I wanted nothing more than to make it better. But I couldn’t. To me, hope seemed lost and the world seemed gray.

So there I sat, watching the news, feeling very unlike my happy, peppy self. Then I came across a quote that really cheered me up. It went like this –

This quote may seem simple and rather unspectacular to you, but it really lifted my spirits today because it reminded me of something very important- no matter how dark and miserable life may seem, there will always be hope. Hope for love, hope for peace, hope for a better tomorrow.

In fact, today, as the world struggles to get back on its feet, we need hope more than ever before. Yeah, bad things happen. But it doesn’t take much to see that the world is filled with some really good people too. It may be hard for us to believe right now, but they actually outnumber the bad- by A LOT! And I know that all of the good ones stand with Beirut, Paris, Japan, Baghdad and all the other countries going through trying times, as they dust themselves off and stand tall once again. Things are going to get better. They always have and they always will. It’s not a bad thing to feel sad, or angry, or even hopeless sometimes. But always remember that there is  hope, even in the darkest of times.

Take a moment today to think and pray, not only for France, but also for those caught in the overlooked tragedies in Lebanon, Japan, and Iraq. Give this a listen (it made me feel better XD)

https://youtu.be/2cW8Alo_5uI

Pray for love. Pray for peace. Pray for humanity, and a better world. 
It’s on its way. Till then we run on hope.

And you know what? I think we’re going to make it.

Until next time,

Bianka

Essena

Hello everyone! Today we’re gonna be talking about this girl right here (I’m pointing below XD)

Her name is Essena O’Neill, a 19 year old YouTuber and Instagram celeb from Australia. She had over half a million followers and joined the top modeling agency in Australia. She had everything she had ever dreamed of having. She “had it all.” That’s why the internet was rocked when two days ago she deleted her social media accounts, and made a final video on her channel telling her story and the reason she decided to quit social media.

Check out the video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe1Qyks8QEM

She has completely deleted her channel as well, and has launched a website with the slogan “Let’s be game changers.” Essena shocked us all as she revealed what goes on behind the camera. Her whole existence was driven by the need for adulation, the desire to increase her following. She wished to project the image of a perfect life. This pressure she put on herself drove her to depression, and she decided she needed to step back and get away from it all.

The internet has fallen into a huge debate on the effects of social media on individuals, the authenticity of those individuals and so on. This video has given us a lot to ponder and discuss but the biggest message I carried away from Essena was this – whatever you do, make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons and always be true to yourself. Be it starting a YouTube channel, or a blog, or literally anything else in life, you need to make sure you’re doing it for you. More than ever before,  we are all connected. And because of that exposure we see people who, to us, lead perfect lives. And being only human, we want to be like them. We all want to be recognized and have our voices heard.

William Shakespeare once wrote "To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man"

We all have something incredible to share with the world, a message only we can deliver. Social media is an amazing platform to express our views and share our stories. There is so much amazing content out there. Imagine how much more incredible it could be if people did their work with passion and drive, without having to worry about being someone they’re not just to maintain their following. The people who really care about you and what you have to say will stick with you no matter what! Always remember that you are worth it, and what you have to share is important! So be brave, take courage, and be yourself for the entire world to see! Don’t be scared to put yourself out there, and don’t let other people bring you down! Don’t believe me? Then listen to Will (he knew what he was talking about, even if we sometimes don’t XD)

I hope Essena finds herself in a better place soon, and I hope she finds joy in spreading her message to the world. She slapped us awake, and I think we’re better for it. Always remember, you’re worth it and you’re voice has value. Use it for good.

Let’s be game changers!

Until next time,

Bianka