Special Olympics Plunge

Onedia Lake near Syracuse, NY was the location of this wonderful event. 400 people planned to plunge into oneida lake in the freezing temperature. I attended the event with Ryan Strader because his hometown was nearby. It was a very interesting experience. We arrived early to set up and stayed later to help take down. It was very cold to say the least but was for a worthy cause. I hope someday that with my coaching certificate I can get more involved with the Special Olympics to make a difference in someone's life.

The Visitor Review

Recently I had watched the movie "The Visitor." It is a very insightful and interesting movie. It was more of a movie to demonstrate and show how immigration and people are treated in these modern post 9/11 times. After 9/11, the United States had look tougher on immigration and people being in the country illegally. This movie shows the life of an older college professor that is recently widowed. His wife was a talented pianist and he is destined to learn how to play the piano to remember her and fill that void that she left. After constant failures of not being able to play the piano he decides to give up. He is required to go to a conference in New York City by his administration at the school. He shows up in NYC at an apartment he owned but hadn't lived in for a very long time. He arrives to notice 2 immigrants living in his place and he chooses for them to stay with him because they have nowhere else to go. He begins to fancy the male's drum and wants to learn how to play it. He starts to practice more and more and then plays in a park with the young male. After entering the subway on their way home the man is accused of entering the subway illegally. He is held in an immigration building in NYC. The older man named Walter decides he will attempt to help this man get out of the immigration building by hiring a lawyer. The man's mom shows up worried about her son and Walter has her stay in his apartment with him. Walter starts to develop a relationship with the woman and abruptly the man is deported out of the country.
This movie is a great message to how people are treated in this country based on their appearance. This country was built around immigrants from various countries specifically in western Europe. Since 9/11 the Country has become very difficult for immigrants to receive clearance to stay in the country as a citizen. I believe that if a person is causing no harm to the country that they should be able to stay. But I am also glad to be in a country and know that certain precautions are being taken everyday to ensure my safety.

BlindSight movie

Tonight I attended a Damn good movie night in Park Center hosted by Dr. Davis. The movie of choice was title BlindSight. This movie was centered towards individuals with visual impairments and most of which were completely blind. Erik Weihenmayer was the first blind man to ever climb Mt. Everest. He was the focal point of the movie because he was contacted by a woman in charge (Sabriye Tenberken) of running a school in Tibet called Braille Without Borders. This is an underdeveloped city in Asia that has a plethora of individuals who are blind. Sabriye wrote Erik a letter explaining to him the situation of their school and how much of an inspiration Erik was to her students who are blind. Erik thought it was not enough to just show up at that school for the students but instead planned a trek into the Himalayas to climb a high peak. The students were thrilled to do this adventure and be like their hero Erik. For most of the adventure the students did well but when the elevation got higher the students began to be sick and they could not reach the top of the mountain. Erik stated at the end of the movie that the friendships he made and being around the students was an amazing experience and was much more important than actually making it to the top of the mountain.

I believe that this story is a true story of triumph. In Tibet, people who are blind are seen as possessed by some entity and there blindness is frowned upon and they are excluded. It is important to make a film like this to show that individuals with disabilities can be just like and do similar things than individuals without disabilities. Just because they may do things differently doesn't mean that they can't do anything. I would advise anyone to watch this movie because it is very inspirational.