Sunday, January 24, 2010

Class Journal

So, when Mr. Glenn told us to expect a surprise on Friday in the drama room I thought it was a bit suspicious, but I definitely did not want to miss out. But, oh, the one period that I had been anticipating all week happened to fall at the same time as my mandatory junior meeting with my counselor. Just my luck, huh? But, it wasn’t a complete loss, though I did miss the beginning activities of class, I was present for the hands-free self-portrait drawing and Sampedro movie which were both quite interesting. Whenever I see disabled people I never quite take into account the extreme difficulty that they have to work through on a day to day basis. I definitely think that I take for granted the use of my basic muscle groups and limbs. If five minutes without being able to use my hands caused me so much aggravation; I can’t imagine having to live like that for the remainder of my life. I would definitely be a huge mental struggle to keep going every day because a lot like Sampedro; I would feel very hopeless.

I thought the movie clip about Ramon Sampedro that documented the ending stages of his self-inflicted loss of life was very authentic and real and really made me feel something despite the fact it was in another language. I like movies like that. Though the subject matter was very depressing, there was something about the film that made me as a viewer sympathize and almost agree with Sampedro’s wish to end it all. Though to a by-stander Ramon Sampedro may seem like a crazy suicidal person who has no will to fight past his disabilities; they will never understand what it truly feels like to be in his position and therefore they and I have no right to judge his actions. Though there have been other disabled people who have been able to make the best of their circumstances, one cannot blame Sampedro for wanting to end it all. He said it best when he was explaining why he wanted to die to his daughter or wife (I can’t remember). When he was lying in his hospital bed about five feet from the woman, he told her that he wanted to die because those five feet, that to her seemed like a very short distance, was in fact a huge journey that he would never be able to face on his own. I thought that was a very emotional appeal to the audience because it made us sympathize very deeply with him and it made me think very highly of those disabled people who go about day to day without function of their limbs, knowing that they will never be able to do anything on their own without aid from a wheelchair or person. I don’t know how they do it and I applaud all of those people who see beyond their pain because I would know I would be more like Sampedro.

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