Alex's Lemonade Stand

I'm not sure why but I spend a lot of time on YouTube. It is like the only place to go and really "hang-out", relax the mind for 10-20 minutes. I clicked on a random YouTube video on to the right side of my screen and it led me to a video called "Alex's Lemonade Stand". As I was watching it, I saw how sweet the picture seems as it focuses on a sweet, innocent child's unfortunate situation. Furthermore, although I wish I could understand what the people were saying, I saw that the pictures really spoke more than the parents of Alex could ever do and still enable us to really see her in a more personal way.

Alex had cancer at a very young age. The wonderful thing about this story is that the cancer that took a hold of her life, however, did not keep her down any more than you or me (who may not have cancer or any serious disease or disease). She practically was "strong" and "brave" because she did not let the circumstance be the end for her. Instead, even in the little frail body that she was in, she rose to sell lemonade as a way to help other kids by raising money to give to doctors so that they could find a cure. Here's a link to the foundation with the website. Unfortunately, she passed away, but that didn't stop the people around her to carry on her legacy. Although I worked to help Key Club, a club that I was in back in high school, with the charity in raising more money for "Alex's Lemonade Stand", I realized now that I was never greatly informed about the history and details of such a miraculous story about a little girl standing up to fight for her own life. I don't know what brought her to thinking that way. Yet I feel that though she seemed like a little girl who have never experienced the fullness of life, she still knew what it meant to die, or the though of not being able to see her parents again, or the things that she could do in school or outside of school. Not only that but the thought of going through a situation that no one can help you seems like an incredible hard thing to deal with here. I think, no matter what though, her parents were still lucky to have such a beautiful child inside and out. The doctors should use this as a motivation to truly reach out and help people in ways that even medicine cannot ever suffice for the young child's body and mind.

But must we be in such a situation before we can start to make amends to the people around us? Could we stop and take time to not think about ourselves and all of the negatives for once, but actually begin to hope that the future will bring us good fortune though the present-day may look dim?

I wonder..how a little girl can be so courageous when even the adults could not do the same. How is it that though she is the one who have the hardest part of having to live with cancer decides to turn it around to make it into a positive thing for herself and other kids? I'm not sure if I quite understand, and I don't know if I ever will (even if I was in her shoes). It doesn't matter though. I find it interesting in that if it wasn't for her (and people like her), I don't know how much hope many other Americans or any other person on this earth might have.

Could you give a bit of hope and do something for the common good? I learned this semester that each and every one of us tend to always have something that troubles us more than some other mundane things. But we shouldn't let our troubles take over and consume us. Rather, let us create and build, because whether you can see it or not, beauty does arise from the depths of the ashes from which it is hidden underneath. Just like a flower that blooms in the summer air. All it needs is time to grow and the right kind of love in which the environment will give to it.

We're like a flower....just waiting for our day to bloom.