Fix Perspective

Fortunate, My Life

Photo of the large, imposing city hall in Belfast, Ireland.
By Nicole Hendry
Junior Reporter
Youth Journalism International
BIRMINGHAM, England – Language constantly evolves over time and is perhaps one of the most genuine indications of the attitudes of a changing society.
Feminism brought ‘firefighter’ to replace ‘fireman,’ technological advances brought abbreviations such as ‘LOL’ and never-before-heard verbs – “to Facebook.”
Now a western trait of self-pity and a tendency for self-absorbency has brought along expressions such as ‘FML.’
Are we really so blinkered that a smudge in our freshly applied nail polish is a ‘Fuck my life’ moment? That to be caught in the rain with no umbrella will ruin our day?
The vast majority of the Western world lives in a state of luxury unimaginable to the millions in dire poverty across the world.
Are we sheltered or just naive? Perhaps just too wrapped up in our own concerns to look beyond our door step at the true ‘FML’ moments out there.
The children working and living in dumpsites in Mumbai and Peru, the mother in Tanzania who cannot afford to feed her own family. She prays for rain so her crops might grow, whilst we will the sun out from behind the clouds so that we might secure the tan we have been longing for.
They are the ones who might truly claim the phrase.
Yet, they do not. They get up every morning and they try, because it is the only way they can survive.
And a mere eight-hour flight away we refuse to leave the house. Our hair has gone wrong again! How could we possibly show our face when Lindsay round the corner has just had hers done? FML!
If we could remove the blinkers, imagine what we could do. We should be helping these people, not moaning about our own petty problems.
Take a look at yourself, at the room in which you are sitting, the expensive electronic device you read this on.
You are so lucky. So incredibly fortunate to live the life you do.
Don’t waste it. Live each day in the knowledge of the value of your life. Don’t curse it. Be grateful. The sooner we realize our great fortune, the sooner we might summon the courage to give back, to share our luck with others.
It is all a matter of perspective. You live an incredible life. Re-coat that nail, and dance in the rain.
After all, you’re already wet!