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An Inspired Passion

15 Sunday Jul 2012

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Charity, Charity Telleman Dick, doctors, dream, flolan, inspired, Lung, Lung transplantation, Medicine, never give up, Opera, passion, patients, Pulmonary hypertension, ted, ted.com

What is the purpose of living a life? Do you live to avoid death? Or are you planning to do something special with it?
I want you to keep these questions in mind, as you read this post. Because these questions will keep popping up, through out the story of an operatic soprano, that of which I am about to tell you.
Two years ago, Charity Tillemann-Dick woke up from a month long coma, following a double lung transplant. Six years before that, she started her career as an opera singer in Europe. She was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary hypertension, also known as PH. This disease is caused by the thickening of the pulmonary vein, which in turn cause the right side of the heart to work over time. Charity’s heart was 3.5 the size of an average healthy heart. Needless to say, physical activity is difficult for people with this condition, and according to research within 2 to 5 years, you die. Charity went to see this specialist who was supposedly top-of-the-field, and this doctor told her to stop singing. Though there were no medical evidence to back up her claim, the doctor emphasized that there was a relationship between operatic arias with PH. She said that Charity was singing her own obituary if she doesn’t quit.
The doctor said, Charity has to quit her dream to survive.
It’s easy to say, but harder to do. Charity loved singing, and she wasn’t going to let someone’s hunch make her give it up.
So as the altitude of Colorado (which is where she was living at the time) exacerbated her symptoms, she moved to Baltimore. There she worked with doctor Reda Girgis and his team at John Hopkins to fight for her survival.
After six months, her conditions were worse. She couldn’t walk. She couldn’t climb a flight of stairs, she couldn’t stand up without feeling like she’s about to faint. When they measured her internal arterial pulmonary pressure, hers was 146. A number far too large in comparison to the expected norm 15-20. Charity went on a treatment called Flolan- A catheter was inserted into her chest, and is attached to a pump that weights about four and a half pounds (That’s 2.04kg). Everyday, 24 hours, that pump is at her side, administering medicine directly to her heart, and it’s not a particularly preferable medicine in many sense. Let me give you some… precautions: if there is a bubble in your medicine-because you have to mix it every morning- and it stays there, you’ll probably die. If you go through a metal detector, you’ll probably die. If you run out of medicine, you’ll definitely die.
No one wants to go on Flolan, but the medicine was exactly what she needed. Within a few days, she made incredible recovery, and within a few months, she was performing again. And even though the pump complicated things, she was happy.
Then in Febuary 2008, her grand father passed away. Seven weeks later, she got another call from her family. Her father was in a car accident, and he died. “At 24, my death was entirely expected. But his, well the only way I could articulate how it felt was that it precipitated my medical decline,” Charity said in retrospect.
Her doctor wanted her to enlist for a lung transplant. But it took her a while to second his advice. She spent her whole life training her lungs, and it was understandably hard for her to be enthusiastic about giving them up. When they’d found a match for her lungs, she flew to Cleveland, and undertook a thirteen-and-a-half-hour surgery, in which she flat lined twice. And though her mom couldn’t say goodbye to her before the surgery, she didn’t leave her side in the months of recovery that followed. Two years ago, she woke up, and there were a dozen tubes coming in and out of her body. And when the first thing she saw was her mother, she couldn’t help but smile.
“Whether by a Mack truck or by heart failure or faulty lungs, death happens. But life isn’t really just about avoiding death, is it? It’s about living. Medical conditions don’t negate the human condition. And when people are allowed to pursue their passions, doctors will find they have better, happier and healthier patients. My parents were totally stressed out about me going and auditioning and traveling and performing all over the place, but they knew that it was much better for me to do that than be preoccupied with my own mortality all of the time. And I’m so grateful they did.
When I  think about that doctor who told me that I couldn’t sing.  I want to tell her, and I want to tell you, we need to stop letting disease divorce us from our dreams. When we do, we will find that patients don’t just survive; we thrive. And some of us might even sing.” Charity  Tillemann Dick concluded her TED conference with those words.
And I, I walk away, with an unwavering will to keep trying, to never stop believing in my passion.
Charity Tilleman Dick (Ted Conference)
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A flock of birds

15 Sunday Jul 2012

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Biology, Bird, collaboration, cooperation, essay, feelings, flock of birds, nature, poets, symbol, team building, who you are, Zoology

A photographer once said, “The early dawn and the late dusk are the prime time. It’s when things look at its best”. When ever I look to the sky during these special hours, I nod my head in agreement.  If you’ve never seen a flock of bird, soaring above your head, you’ve never come close to comprehending mother nature. So for those of you who don’t know, a flock is a group of birds feeding, resting, or traveling together.

A flock of birds is a glorious example for synchrony in nature. In fact, many romantic poets and writers have used it as a symbol for cooperation, and for team-building. They are not particularly intelligent creatures, these birds, and yet, they assemble beautiful dances. Have you ever questioned why? The scientific explanation would be that this is a type of synchrony that have to do with defense. When you’re small and vulnerable, like these birds, it helps to swarm to avoid predators, to confused predators. Other than that the synchrony also improve foraging efficiency.
The other explanation is your imagination. I’ll tell you mine. For me, a flock live together, because each of them are gregarious. Because they’ve mastered the skill of cooperation. When spring comes and I look to the sky to find a migrating flock of bird in the familiar V-shape formation. I think of a pilot, directing a plane to its destination. Sometimes, I even see passengers on the back seat, shouting compliments, encouragements to the pilot. And when he tires, another volunteers to take his place. To me, love is presented in that string between one bird to the next.
And it’s beautiful.
 

Experience is truly what makes life, life.

21 Saturday Apr 2012

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Arts, bad life, begining, blog, Conferences, Education, experience, life, me, melody nguyen, Model United Nations, motivation, Philosophy, question, relationships, understanding, United Nations

2 weeks and NO posts? I know, I know. I’m sorry. Forgive me? (she said, her puppy dog eyes blinked pleadingly). Yes? Okay. Moving on!

I attended a MUN (Model United Nations) conference during the last weekend, and the experience was eye-opening. It seems like I’d seen the world in a new perspective (this could be understood quite literally as we spoke in third person, and debated policies and resolution to global issues- see how professional that sounded? That’s what I meant). In retrospect, there were many things, many things to which I would do differently. But I feel blessed to have the opportunity to experience those mistakes, because I now know what’s right.

One of the things I learned was the value of a friend. Nowadays, it’s hard to find the stereotypical type of BFF, you know the will-stand-by-you-no-matter-what type of friend. It’s not that everyone will stab you behind the back. It’s also because “forever” is a long time. And by that time, things would be different..As an international student, most of my friends move to different schools every 2-3 years, and even though we live in an era of technology, it’s hard to stay connected when you never see each other face to face. Before, I live abide a philosophy: Never pick one out of a crowd to be your bestfriend. Instead, pick the whole crowd to be your friends.

That theory of mine seemed okay for a moment.One,  I was rarely involved in any of the drama that haunted the high school years. Two, I was never “obliged” to gossip. Three, I would never have to make someone my “enemy” just because my bestfriend hated his/her guts…And on goes my list.

To an extent, I’d thought that my plan was perfect. Of course, I won’t get as many invitations to parties and hangouts, and I didn’t mind. But truth to be told, my “philosophy” was far from perfect. And you know what? A TRUE bestfriend will never make you do the things you don’t like. I realized it now, after I attended the conference.So you see experience is truly what makes life, life.

So what makes a good life?

11 Wednesday Apr 2012

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bad life, Carl Sandburg, Cycle of poverty, Definition, friends, Glee, good life, Jonathan Wells, life, melody nguyen, money, motivation, Philosophy, poor, question, relationships, rich, success

Everybody wants the thing that’s called “a good life”. Here’s my question, what makes a good life?   Go ask a million persons and you’ll receive a million different answers. What is that that moves “an average life” to a good one? Your definition may be different from mine but I’ll just go ahead and read your mind for yours. No? Okay, I’ll write down what I observe.

1. Having money to spend

Yes,  the cha-ching! Money matters everywhere in society. A rich person can purchase a finer house, a nicer car, better food, better schools,better health care, more courteous services. In many cases, it can also purchase respect, love (you  may say that’s it’s not be true love, but it’s still LOVE), acceptance. With money comes power, with power comes more money, and the cycle repeats. It’s as simple as this in the poverty cycle where having no money means having no power, no education. And without education, there’s even less money.The cycle of poverty circles the poor’s life like a hurricane, the closer to the circle, the deadlier the situation is. My point is, you’re lucky than most people. You might hear others say this all the time, and it’s because it’s the TRUTH.

Some people are convinced that money is the big difference between an average life and the good life. Others feel that it’s not the money, but the things money can buy that define a good life. Jonathan Wells pointed out that, “Advertisers work very hard to convince you that your life just won’t be complete without their product. Like you’re living in deprivation if you don’t own the latest, greatest, soon to be obsolete version of everything”. I agree, in this world that we’re living in, it’s a lot harder to define what you REALLY wants. If you’re a teenager like I am, you know exactly what I’m talking about: we need that phone that everybody else is using (or a better one), we need that shirt that’s “in-trend” lately, etc. But wait, do we REALLY need them? Sure, they make us look better, but will they make us happy?  We need money for practically everything, and maybe because of this, we’re never satisfied with the amount we’re having.

But money is just a tool. You’re the user, don’t let it use you.

2. Having friends/ Having good relationships

It’s probably safe to say that friends are crucial in our lives.They’re the ones that bring that smile on your face, laugh with you over the things only you can understand, ….(fill in all the things your friends do). Problem is, sometimes friends are fickle. Sometimes they’re fake, sometimes they find other friendships, and totally forget yours. And that may make you feel like you live in a horrible life. Well you’re not. The orphans who are abandoned by their own parents could still smile. Artie from Glee is handicap, and he’s still enjoying life. If they can put a smile on their faces every day, so can you.

My mother once told me, “You don’t need the whole school to know you. You only need one, and they’ll never let you down.”Get one to truly know you, and be ready to truly know them too. Remember it doesn’t have to be someone you’re age, it can be you’re family!

3. Success in everything you do

And wouldn’t that make life so much easier? To be successful in everything you do, hmmmmmmm… but wouldn’t that make life really boring?

 

You are the one whose definition of a good life really matters. The reason for this is simple, it is your life we are talking about here. Why not define yours as good?

A beginning of a new love

03 Saturday Mar 2012

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Arts, begining, beginning, blog, blogging, Book, Generation Z, Ho Chi Minh City, love, melody, melody nguyen, new, new post, newbie, nguyen, starting a new post, Vietnam

“We can do no great thing, only small things, with great love”- Anonymous.

Before writing this post, before creating this blog, I’d asked myself a million times-why. Why would I take in another commitment? Why would I expose myself on the internet? Why would I… a thousand times over. The answer I came up with was because I loved writing. So why not take this chance to explore “my” love?

I’m luckier than most others, I realize. I’m living in the time of innovation, change, growth, and technology. I’m living in a world where information and entertainment comes with just a click. Sometimes, I wonder how I can make a difference, how I can contribute something to this world. I guess it must start with a kind gesture.

Go out there tomorrow’s morning, and compliment someone. You’ll make a difference to their day. Be there when your friends need a shoulder to lean on. You’ll make a difference to their sorrows. Drop a penny to a peasants on the streets of Vietnam. You’ll make a difference to their lives. I’d learned that what you do, need not to be great . If it comes from the sincerity of the heart, it’s great enough. And if you should think that you can’t make a difference, BE the difference. That’s what I’m going to do.

To be honest? I’d been procrastinating in writing this post in weeks. I’d thought about what my blog would be about, love or life, or books… And  I figured it would be about me. My experiences. My learnings.  My “loves”. Entrusting that to someone out there, my voice is heard and shared, I took this leap of faith.

Because hey, experience is what makes life, life.

And this new love? It’s different. It’s inescapable.Image

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