I chose to talk to my cousin who is living with the HIV virus known as AIDS. Although I didn't to my cousin in person I talked to him over the phone and have seen him recently so I had a good idea of his physical state. My cousin has been living with aids for about 14 years now and he seems to be doing well with dealing with his disease. His approach to dealing with his disease might be the most amazing display of confidence I have ever seen. He doesn't let it bring him down in any of the activities that he does and he doesn't want people to feel bad for him because of his disease. When talking to him on the phone about this I actually felt more uncomfortable about talking about it then he did.
My cousin takes great care of himself and he is actually in better shape then most adults that don't have this disease that I know. He works out in the gym almost everyday and he is very carful about taking his medication daily. When I asked him if he was afraid of the outcome of his disease he said in his kind voice, "I'm not worried about it until it's actually happening, and you shouldn't be either". It is amazing to me that he could have such a good attitude to such a horrible situation. He was telling me that the support of his family and friends really helps him cope with his situation. He has always done what he wanted and doesn't let others hold him back. When I told him that if I were in his position I would be dealing with it in the way that I would be scared and not be as motivated. This surprised him and he told me that while in these situation you have to make the best out of it or else your waisting valuable time in your life. In my opinion truer words have never been spoken.
While talking to my cousin it reminded me of the book Tuesdays with Morrie. This reminded me of that book because they are both living with horrible diseases but in both situations they are looking at their disease with the most positive attitude possible. They try to live life in happiness and try to live it care free. Both Morrie and my cousin try to give the best advice possible and try to get people to understand their situation. They both don't want people to feel bad for them but they want people to understand their situation and be supportive. Not feel bad and have pity on them.
Max- I think that the most beautiful sentence in your post was, "This surprised him and he told me that while in these situation you have to make the best out of it or else your waisting valuable time in your life." I think that this is a great way to look at this situation. It is very brave and hard to deal with and I would have responded the exact same way as you Max. Time is probably the most valuable thing that we have so it should never be wasted.
ReplyDeleteI agree with a lot of the insights you found in your cousins life. "while in these situation you have to make the best out of it or else your waisting valuable time in your life. It is amazing to me that he could have such a good attitude to such a horrible situation." This is what Morrie was talking about in Tuesdays With Morrie, when your face with certain death you tend to see the world in a brighter light. You don't think about the problem you have you just think about the the best things in life. You had a few weird sentences but beside that you had good grammar.
ReplyDelete