Friday, February 5, 2010
3:30 AM
Just returned from my uncle's wedding dinner. I'm very happy for the newlyweds. My uncle is young and handsome, my aunt is young and gorgeous. There were slideshows of their wedding photos playing on stage, and I have to give my uncle tons of credit for having a great taste and for choosing wonderful professionals to do their photos. The photos were very beautiful. The scenes were right-on, their outfits great, and I have to chuckle when I saw the adorable and cute poses. I don't remember seeing my uncle happier or handsomer, and he's been all smiles lately. Back to the photos — I love the places where they took them! There was a series of photos in which both were in white outfits, and they were surrounded by plants. Probably walking through a park or forest. White and green make a lovely combination. Then they were in white again, at a beach during sunset. Another one with them surrounded by red roses. Another one taken during sunset again, but this time they were on a bridge, in front of a beach house. My favourite ones were probably those taken at a dock/harbour. Behind them were boats and yachts... so beautiful!
I might be overreacting, but honestly this is actually the first time I'm really looking at someone's wedding photos. A few days ago I got to see their new bedroom and it was beautifully decorated. My uncle added wallpapers and the way he hung those framed wedding photos made the room... chic. He must have worked his ass off to make this wedding come true for his wife. I can't help but admire men like him. Now I take a look at my guy peers... Errr... You'll get there someday, guys.
GP classes were very depressing lately. We spent two periods watching "Blood Diamond", a film starring Leonardo DiCaprio. I was actually surprised that teacher showed us this film, because it was rated R. The film was filled with obscenities — the language, the images, etc. The scenes were horrifying and really brutal... children firing their weapons at every human being, children and women being beaten up, dead bodies being played like toys by rebels, children being amputated, children crying, babies screaming, the list goes on. The film was set in Sierra Leone, and everywhere the characters went to, there was lots of killing going on. Thousands of innocent lives gone in a split of a second.
We were told that the film was based on true stories. This stuff really happens in that part of the world. I cannot imagine living everyday among millions of homeless strangers, not knowing where your family is, living in fear, and everyday is spent running, escaping, and hiding, and the thing you only wished for was to be alive and free from pain. We, on the other hand, wish for material things. We complain about our food, our homework, our uniform... We take things like water, food, clothes, shelter, electricity, air conditioning, etc. for granted. It dawned on me that as I'm typing this, a child somewhere out there is being kidnapped, a woman somewhere in the world is being killed, and families are being torn apart right now...
I know this overwhelming response on my part is only temporary. By the time I finished registering for my CCA club in the afternoon, I was already complaining about the weather. So it's good that I record my reactions to the film down. I know we forget these things very easily because good things happen around us everyday. So why not remind ourselves from time to time by this written/typed evidence? We will only change our way of living when we have experienced the 'real thing'.
In the words of Mrs. Kamini, "be thankful for where you are and where you live."
