Nick Vujicic: Admired Person Assignment. Rhiannon Beunder 4/10/2012 COM 402

Transcription

1 RUNNING HEAD: Nick Vujicic Nick Vujicic: Admired Person Assignment Rhiannon Beunder 4/10/2012 COM 402

2 2 Nick Vujicic: Admired Person Assignment Choosing one famous person in the world that you truly admire can be a difficult task. For this assignment, that is what we were asked to do and after thinking about it for a short period of time I chose Nick Vujicic. I wanted to choose someone that stood out from all of the rest and felt that he has always been someone that I admired and I am passionate about. The fact that he has a very positive outlook on life is a strong similarity between us. Nick Vujicic was born in Brisbane, Australia in ( Life without Limbs, 2012). He grew up differently from other children and overcame a lot of challenges throughout his upbringing by adapting to his disability. Without limbs he faced a lot of difficulties including bullying, depression, loneliness and low self- esteem. ( Life without Limbs, 2012). He doubted a lot of things in his life for example, not believing that he would get married one day. Eventually he was able to put all of the negativity in his life behind him with the help of his loved ones and religious beliefs. He believes that everyone has a purpose in life and his is to help people around the world. ( Life without Limbs, 2012). Nick now travels around the world giving motivational speeches that inspires people to make the most out of their lives. Bullying is a serious issue that the world faces in our society today. When Nick Vujicic gives a speech to a school or large body of people, he is changing a lot of people s lives including the bullies sitting in the crowd. They may not know it but they could have been a bully at some point in their life. I believe that all children probably bully at sometime in their life, even if it is just something small. By

3 3 listening to Nick s inspirational speech, it can completely change the way that boys and girls perceive things in a positive way. Once children begin to understand what Nick has been through and that it is important to accept people for who they are, it can inspire them to grow up as better people and treat one another with respect. Nick Vujicic would have had to deal with a lot of obstacles growing up as a young boy without limbs, especially during puberty. It is easy to see why his self- esteem was so low because he would not have gone to school dances with girls or got to play sports with the other boys. Yet he still pulled himself through and became a man with a strong heart. Having low self- esteem when he was younger would not have helped him attract the opposite sex but with the man that he is today he has been able to find a woman in his life that he recently married in February this year. ( Daily Mail, 2012). This just goes to show how far attitude can get you no matter what differences you may have from everyone else in life. The way I see it is if you can accept and love yourself for who you are, then others will too. Learning about Nick has made me more comfortable with the way I am. Sure I may not be perfect and not have the body that I want but nobody is. I have learned to appreciate the simple things in life like brushing my hair and being able to hold someone s hand. I feel like a lot of people forget about things like this, which overall frustrates me. This is why I chose to give my speech on Nick Vujicic, so people can realize that there are people out there that do not have the things in life that we take for granted.

4 4 I respect how Nick has been able to get through his challenges in life and educate others on them. He is one of the least selfish people in life that dedicates his time and effort to raising awareness, and fundraising for charities and disability campaigns. ( Attitude is Altitude, 2011). Growing up in Vietnam for seven and a half years, I was exposed to a lot of people who experienced hardship including being homeless, having lost limbs from old land mines and striving to survive on as little as fifty cents a day. Some how these people managed to still have a smile on their face because they were alive and that seemed good enough for them. There have been a lot of life changing experiences that have made me appreciate things in life a lot more. After losing one of my best friends in a car accident last summer it was a huge wake up call for me. I truly realized how short life can really be and that it is important to be kind and treat people with respect. Judging people because of their differences wont do anything good for you and that is why I am glad that there are people like Nick trying to educate people on these issues. Overall I would say that Nick Vujicic has been a large inspiration on my life and I hope that more people will acknowledge him and admire him like I do. A quote of his that I think everyone should remember is, It s a lie to think that you re not good enough. It s a lie to think that you re not worth anything. (Vujicic, 2011). If he had not believed in himself, he would not be the magnificent person that he is today.

5 5 Bibliography Attitude is Altitude. (2011). Nick Vujicic. Attitude is Altitude. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on April 7, 2012 at nick.php. Daily Mail. (Feb 18, 2012). Pictured: Limbless motivational speaker enjoys honeymoon on the beach a week after marrying the love of his life. Daily Mail. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on April 7, 2012 at /Nick- Vujicic- Limbless- motivational- speaker- enjoys- honeymoon- beach- week- marrying- love- life.html. Life Without Limbs. (2012). Life Without Limbs Inc. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on April 7, 2012 at nick/. Vujicic, Nick. (2011). Nick Vujicic No Arms, No Legs, No Worries. I m Debt Free. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on April 7, 2012 at vujicic- no- arms- no- legs- no- worrie.