Ted Talk: My Daughter Malala

"Why is it that making tanks is so easy, but building schools is so hard?"

I recently watched an amazing Ted Talk that I thought I would share. "My Daughter Malala" was presented by Ziauddin Yousafzai in March of 2014. Yousafzai spoke about the treatment of women and girls in patriarchal societies and the impact that his daughter Malala has made.
For anyone who hasn't heard Malala's story: On October 9, 2012, a young Malala (11 years old) was shot in the head by the Taliban for simply going to school and speaking out on behalf of women's educational rights.
Yousafzai started out his powerful speech by stating, "Before [Malala got shot in the head for standing up for education] she was my daughter, now I am her father." This statement speaks volumes-especially considering the set up of the society Yousafzai lives in.
No matter your passion, I recommend this Ted Talk to all. It's inspirational, emotional, and gives such a great perspective on the real issues of the world. Yousafzai speaks about the women of Pakistan; it is extremely hard to envision a life where women and girls suffer such deep oppression. Yet in these patriarchal societies, from the moment a girl is born, she is unwelcome. Women and girls are not celebrated in Pakistani. In fact, Yousafzai speaks about how women are mortified and shameful when they find out they had a daughter.
From birth, girls have to watch their brothers go to school while they stay home. After a girl turns 12, however, it gets worse. For after a girl in Pakistan turns 12, she is not allowed to leave the house without a male escort-ever. She is confined in the four walls of her home; if a woman decides to disobey, she runs the risk of being killed. Yousafzai did not want this life for his daughter, and encouraged Malala to attend his school. Malala's successes in school motivated her to speak out so that all women and girls would have this same opportunity. Malala's passion and activism have made Yousafzai extremely proud. When being asked what he did to make her so special, he responds, "I did not clip her wings, and that a is all."
It truly is amazing what an education can do. The power that it gives an individual, the wings it gives them to soar is incomparable to any other privilege. I say we take Yousafzai and Malala's advice; focus less on building tanks and focus more on building schools so we can avoid clipping the wings of others.  

The Virtue of Kindness

"Kindness makes you the most beautiful person in the world no matter what you look like."

In the superficial world we live in today, the simple virtue of kindness seems to have been lost in translation. It's been said that, "Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile,a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." It really is amazing how much of a difference one small act of kindness can make. Quite lengthy, but worth the read; This is my very favorite illustration of the enormous impact that one small act of kindness can make. Click here to read the story of Kyle.

On a more personal level, recently, my friends and iQuest-mates Luke, Rylie, and I made "helping hands" as a random act of kindness. We wrote inspirational quotes on these
 hands and passed them out around campus to brighten peoples day. This little act was actually so much more rewarding than I thought it would be! The hands were a cute and fun idea, and the quotes were thoughtfully picked by the three of us, so they definitely could have spoken to people on their own. However, I think that the human interaction is what really made an impact. In this generation, many people (myself included) get wrapped up in their own lives and sometimes forget to acknowledge others-especially strangers. It was a special experience to make eye contact with people I didn't know and exchange a smile. Such a simple act boosted the happiness of Luke, Rylie, myself and all the recipients of these hands. This alone is very encouraging to continue to do small acts like this.

As preached by Scott Dinsmore, who was Mrs. Gagnon's very close friend, we should all "Spend kindness like it's money and pretend you're a billionaire." We could all do a better job of spreading kindness-it's time we all started living like billionaires.