I'm one of those "nice" girls. I kinda let people walk all over me, and I always have.
When people go against my ideas, I just shrug it off instead of fighting for my ideas.
I like peace. I don't like confrontation, and if I find out that a guy I like has a girlfriend,
more than likely I'll back off... while some girls would go for it regardless of the guy's relationship
status. I guess you can say that when I first saw how mean people can be in society, I was truly shocked.
I didn't know that people were capable of doing such horrible things to one another, but if there was
one thing I learned... it's that everyone, EVERY single person has a PERSONAL AGENDA.

But I wish to be different. I wish to be strong, strong enough to fight and stand up for what I believe in.
Strong enough, so that I don't have to feel obliged to laugh when someone says a joke that's not funny at all, but I laugh anyways just to "look good" and be "polite." I no longer want to have to suppress the words
I want to say when people treat me like dirt, and order me around... I no longer want to be those girls who is threatened by competition. I want to be one of those women who could stand up to fight the good fight, instead of letting the stronger evil take over all that means so much to me.
I want to be confident in my own skin... and this runs more than skin deep.
I want to be able to be myself around a guy, and let it go when I discover he doesn't want to know me once I let my guard down. I want to be able to call people out on their mistakes...

But I also wish to be the girl who is able to love just for the sake of loving someone... I want to be the girl who believes in changing the world, and I want to convince others to do the same. I want to be the girl who has so much love flowing within her, the words she speaks, her actions are driven out of Godly love. I want to be able to embrace those hurting from emotional wounds. I want to be the woman who can smile genuinely and openly. I want to have a heart so big so that I may accept those ignored by society.

I will be that woman. I will be the strong, confident woman who is characterized by humility and grace. With His grace, I will be this woman...

I was reading a memoir on Jackie Kennedy today, and how her good friend, Maurice Tempelsman, read "Itacha" at her funeral. It was her favorite poem...

If you don't know it by now, yes, I am enamored with all things Jackie O, and yes, I get pretty flustered when people compare Michelle O to Jackie O. If you want my opinion on this, I'll be brief and just say... There can only be one Jackie O... just as there is only one Michelle O.

Here is a reading of "Itacha" by the great and talented Sir Sean Connery.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n3n2Ox4Yfk

Why "What Would You Do" makes me want to become a better person

This is an ABC Primetime show that is hosted by John Quinones. It is a hidden camera show that stages social experiments in order to test how society or people in general react to particular situations that can be quite controversial.




I have been following this show for quite a while, and I love this show with a passion. I'm quite timid when it comes to tense social situations that call for a discerning voice. It must be the "asian" in me... telling me to keep quiet, and mind my own business, kind of like "what happens in the family stays in the family" thing.
"What would you do" is so inspiring in every way. Every time I watch this show, I am brought to tears because I am so moved. I am inspired by the everyday heroes that remind me of what being "human" is all about.

Here is my list of how this show encourages me to be a better person.

1. Speak out!

It reminds me that when there are situations when people are being hurt or ignored, I should definitely say something. I want to go back to that one episode when two actors posing as Mexican migrant workers were denied service at a New Jersey sandwich shop. The waiter wouldn't take their orders because they couldn't speak English. Some people agreed with the bigotry that occurred right before their very eyes, but there were many more who raised their voices at the injustice. Some of those brave heroes when confronted with the fact that they were being filmed as a social experiment got so emotional. She was nervous about speaking out initially, but she was courageous enough to raise her voice at the bigotry. As timid as she was, and although she may have had second thoughts, she did the right thing. And when confronted with rolling cameras, it was only natural that she would respond with an outburst of tears. I understand her reaction so much, and I can only wish I had her strength.

2. If you do what YOU think is right, trust your instincts, you will be joined by fellow do-gooders who feel the same way.

Changing the world is something young people wish to do, and so do many other people in the world. The great thing about being young is that speaking out is something that is expected of us. People generally think young people bring much vitality and energy to an issue, and what we forget is that our energy is very very contagious. As outspoken young people with a conscience, when we speak out issues that hit close to home, we will be able to influence others and eventually change our world...

In one of the episodes of "WWYD," there was a very tense situation where "fraternity/sorority hazing" was being staged. As one person spoke up, so did other by standers who were itching to say something but couldn't.

Little do we know that our youth brings us so many advantages in making a difference in our community. We are the agents of change!

3. In need of confrontation, do it with respect...

In one of the episodes, there was a "momzilla" who was telling her daughter that she looked fat at a wedding dress fitting. Some of the brave Samaritans went up to the weeping daughter as the momzilla went to find another dress for her daughter. These women told the young bride she looked beautiful, and to ignore her mother. Only one woman though, took the mother of the bride aside and spoke to her in a very heart-to-heart way. She respectfully reminded the momzilla that as mothers, they were never to call their children "ugly" or "fat." It was quite unnerving for the momzilla, even though she was an actress hired for the show. Her facial expressions showed just how impressed she was at what this woman had to say.

In many tense social situations when wrongdoings are committed, it is so easy for us to get angry at the perpetrator, but we must also be reminded that fanning the fire is not always the best protocol. When the need for confrontation arises, respect must be put into consideration, even though the wrongdoer may have committed something that goes beyond our moral threshhold.

I am still so impressed by the way the woman in the bridal shop handled the situation with momzilla. She was respectful, graceful almost, but very firm and unyielding. Kudos kudos kudos...

4. Every human being is the same. Don't judge a book by the cover

If you saw what looked like a career woman, sprawled out on the ground on your way to school/work, what would you do? Here's what I would do, I would immediately call for help.
How about if we replaced her with a homeless man with a beer can in his hand? Eh... I would honestly walk off, thinking he had one too many beers.

A social psychologist on the show said that the homeless in America are one of the most negatively stereotyped groups in society. The more I thought about what he said, I realized how true it really was. We immediately think that the homeless are lazy and worthless to the well-being of society. What we really forget is that we, as a society, may have put them in their situation to begin with.

On the show, the career woman, well-dressed and well-heeled was saved within 6 seconds. Immediate response ensued... everyone was sympathetic.
The homeless man? Not until 20 minutes had passed until someone came to his aid. This woman, who was homeless herself, stood on the side and asked passerbys for help in calling 911. Once again, it took a good 15 minutes before anoter woman stopped to call for help. The actor(the homeless man) was so touched by the homeless woman's actions he described her as an angel... she referred to him as "Billy" throughout the ordeal, giving him a name, a truly humane act...

5. Be brave!

One episode I can't forget is when a young girl playing on the playground, was approached by a man who wanted to take her into the woods while her babysitter was MIA. It was quite obvious at what he intended to do. Even though this situation was all staged, things were definitely tense. We hear about these stories of child abductions every single day, but to see it come to life, albeit acted out, was still chilling. So many mothers, fathers, grandfathers stopped dead in their tracks, kept their eyes like hawks when they saw the man approach the little girl. They took her away to safety, and chased the man away from the playground. At one point, I was afraid for the man's life, as a brave father was willing to use force to remove him from the vicinity of the young girl. All of the men were action-driven. They tried to remove the girl as far away from the man as possible, and were willing to use force to chase the man away. Women, on the other hand, did speak up, but at one point, the little girl was told by producers of the show to pretend she knew the man (abductor). When the women asked the girl if she knew the man, she said she did, and when the girl and the man walked away together hand in hand, they were not able to stop the man's actions.

This really brings out a particular difference between men and women. Men are very action-driven, while women, we do speak up, but we refrain from using force especially against a man who is a potential threat. Quite honestly, I would be afraid to physically remove the man away from the little girl. I'm a woman, and the man may use force against me.

What I did gain from all this was that many young girls' deaths could have been prevented if all of us(women included) would be brave enough to trust our intuition and courageous enough to use force if necessary to prevent these horrific crimes against children.

We don't have to go all out and use our dusty martial arts moves on these abductors, but what we can do is become more action-oriented. Using the mace we carry around to stop abductors of children should be the second step if a word of warning didn't work the first time around.



We don't have to look far for our superheroes and guardian angels. They are all around us. In this web of humanity is where we find the world's bravest and most courageous do-gooders. In times like these, we are in need of more. Speak out! Trust your conscience, and be brave! and last but not least... What would you do?