The girl died. And she died at 13. The first time I saw her, her innocent big eyes had caught my attention even before I noticed that atop that beautiful, carefully made-up face laid a bald head. She was young, fashionable and had so much to offer the world. But cancer was all the world offered her. You could tell from her eyes, how big she wanted her world to be, how eager she wanted to live but her hopes shrivelled into nothingness and death could not have been more cruel.
She was no ordinary girl. Talia Joy Castellano; the teenage girl that bewildered the world with her amazing beauty make-up video tutorials that swept Youtube and caught the attention of several talk shows, magazines and other media outlets. But hers was no ordinary make up. It was her attempt to correct her many inadequacies, her imperfections. It was her attempt to erase from her mind and the mirrors alike; of the ugliness she felt from her bald head- a result of long periods of chemotherapy. It was her way of filling up her wells of happiness and making up for her physical and mental detachment from the moving world. But she gradually lost her strength with her every fight and she faded gradually though unwillingly, losing on all fronts in her battle against the several waging cancer. She lost gradually each decibel of sound, each air of breath, every pixel of sight but then she also lost too, the moments of pain, of uncertainty, of agonizing hope. She lost at 13, her life.
However at 13, Talia had lived a life many adults can only dream of. Life had only offered her a dozen and one years. Even though little, life still poisoned her years with cell feasting worms baring the name cancer. But unlike many, Talia manipulated her years and made 13 look like 30 and at thirteen, she did enough to make her name known across the world.
Like Talia, we all have been offered our own pie of years. But overtime, we have learnt that the differences in our pie sizes are no judgement for our fulfilment. Talia merely had 13 years out of which 6 were poisoned. Many have had several decades but their passage through the world can be likened to the path created by snakes on rock- virtually non-existent. Many of us live that kind of life- a life with no life; and when we pass away, there is little or nothing to be remembered for. Throughout those years that we graced the grasses of the different terrains of the world, we make no impact and thus disappear like we never really came.
This got me thinking. The world I see is a place where we are all involved in a rat race of some sort against time. Trying to catch up with time and making the best use of it before our bodies starts failing us, before we lose our youthful vigour and all the energy bubbling inside of us, before we lose the sparkle in our eyes and our once strong muscles start submitting to age.
We will all cease to exist someday. Death is an inevitable price we cannot but pay for, for without it, life will lose its value. The skin we spend so much to maintain will become meal for the worms, the body we were once proud of will decay. That great shape that hypnotizes heads will be rendered useless and we will become so helpless. Out of the many designer clothing accumulated overtime from journeys to Italy, Milan, Paris and from all over the world, only one will be worthy enough to follow us to the final destination. All the wealth we have sacrificed our youth to accumulate, the houses, the cars, the jewellery, the fat bank account, everything will become the property of some individuals who were probably not around when you were trying to make ends meet. All our dreams, our fears, our hopes and our insecurities will be buried along with us.
But before we initiate our contract with death, we must first complete our life pacts.
We could choose to go with the tide or stand the risk of being washed away. We can only adapt to the situation or we stand the risk of going extinct. New technologies keep emerging to make living worthwhile but yet life is only what it is; a phase we all pass through before crossing over to oblivion.
We can only make best of life by loving ourselves and be good to all men. Live each day like it is your last. Be grateful for what you have and have no regrets. Learn to forgive, let go and be willing to start afresh. Learn from your mistakes and always be the best you can be. Do not hold on to the past, live the present to the fullest and look forward to the future with optimism. Do not let people sadden you; they are like you, mortal beings who will at one point or the other drop dead (pardon my use of language; it is to drive home the point). Until next time when I post on this blog, stay positive.
But before I drop my pen, I’d say a little prayer that little Talia rest in the bosom of God and may God in his infinite mercies comfort those she left behind. Goodnight beautiful. God bless you.
She was no ordinary girl. Talia Joy Castellano; the teenage girl that bewildered the world with her amazing beauty make-up video tutorials that swept Youtube and caught the attention of several talk shows, magazines and other media outlets. But hers was no ordinary make up. It was her attempt to correct her many inadequacies, her imperfections. It was her attempt to erase from her mind and the mirrors alike; of the ugliness she felt from her bald head- a result of long periods of chemotherapy. It was her way of filling up her wells of happiness and making up for her physical and mental detachment from the moving world. But she gradually lost her strength with her every fight and she faded gradually though unwillingly, losing on all fronts in her battle against the several waging cancer. She lost gradually each decibel of sound, each air of breath, every pixel of sight but then she also lost too, the moments of pain, of uncertainty, of agonizing hope. She lost at 13, her life.
However at 13, Talia had lived a life many adults can only dream of. Life had only offered her a dozen and one years. Even though little, life still poisoned her years with cell feasting worms baring the name cancer. But unlike many, Talia manipulated her years and made 13 look like 30 and at thirteen, she did enough to make her name known across the world.
Like Talia, we all have been offered our own pie of years. But overtime, we have learnt that the differences in our pie sizes are no judgement for our fulfilment. Talia merely had 13 years out of which 6 were poisoned. Many have had several decades but their passage through the world can be likened to the path created by snakes on rock- virtually non-existent. Many of us live that kind of life- a life with no life; and when we pass away, there is little or nothing to be remembered for. Throughout those years that we graced the grasses of the different terrains of the world, we make no impact and thus disappear like we never really came.
This got me thinking. The world I see is a place where we are all involved in a rat race of some sort against time. Trying to catch up with time and making the best use of it before our bodies starts failing us, before we lose our youthful vigour and all the energy bubbling inside of us, before we lose the sparkle in our eyes and our once strong muscles start submitting to age.
We will all cease to exist someday. Death is an inevitable price we cannot but pay for, for without it, life will lose its value. The skin we spend so much to maintain will become meal for the worms, the body we were once proud of will decay. That great shape that hypnotizes heads will be rendered useless and we will become so helpless. Out of the many designer clothing accumulated overtime from journeys to Italy, Milan, Paris and from all over the world, only one will be worthy enough to follow us to the final destination. All the wealth we have sacrificed our youth to accumulate, the houses, the cars, the jewellery, the fat bank account, everything will become the property of some individuals who were probably not around when you were trying to make ends meet. All our dreams, our fears, our hopes and our insecurities will be buried along with us.
But before we initiate our contract with death, we must first complete our life pacts.
We could choose to go with the tide or stand the risk of being washed away. We can only adapt to the situation or we stand the risk of going extinct. New technologies keep emerging to make living worthwhile but yet life is only what it is; a phase we all pass through before crossing over to oblivion.
We can only make best of life by loving ourselves and be good to all men. Live each day like it is your last. Be grateful for what you have and have no regrets. Learn to forgive, let go and be willing to start afresh. Learn from your mistakes and always be the best you can be. Do not hold on to the past, live the present to the fullest and look forward to the future with optimism. Do not let people sadden you; they are like you, mortal beings who will at one point or the other drop dead (pardon my use of language; it is to drive home the point). Until next time when I post on this blog, stay positive.
But before I drop my pen, I’d say a little prayer that little Talia rest in the bosom of God and may God in his infinite mercies comfort those she left behind. Goodnight beautiful. God bless you.
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