It is another sleepless night. I turned on CNN and saw this documentary about "Black In America", a show that discusses social struggles and problems that are commonly faced by the black community. By Obama being the 44th President of America, Stevie Wonder has brought his concert all the way to the White House. The so called underprivileged group of African American students have been invited to the White House, to be reminded that they too could achieve success with every opportunity that the country could provide. More talks, more voices are now heard from those who struggle, from those who once thought that a breakthrough was far beyond reach.

While witnessing these series of progression that the African American community has made, I couldn't agree more but to admit that this has to be the proudest moment in history for every African American. At the same time, I couldn't stop but wonder, would the rest of us ever be heard? How many of us, the once young and ambitious profressional working women, are still out there fighting merely to survive? How many of us out there would still be hopeful in the American Dream, a dream that has once brought us into this country? Are we still hopeful in the long awaited Immigration Reform? Would the ones lingering on the streets ever gonna find their way out? I wonder...

It was a busy day. I was rushing home and as I drove passed a junction, I saw this young couple holding a sign that said “we need food”. I looked around and there was clearly nothing edible in my car except for a bag of raw carrots which I have just purchased from the market for soup later in the day. Waiting at the traffic lights, I felt disturbed. It is not uncommon to see homeless people waiting at the street for help, for food and for jobs but I couldn’t recall the last time I saw a couple squatting at the junction asking nothing else but food. At the spur of moment, I heard this voice inside my head saying that if I would only help someone out of convenience, I would never be able to really help someone in need. I quickly made a u-turn to the nearest “Panda Express”, thinking that even if the couple were to reject my offer, I could always treat it as my lunch. As the couple was squatting at a busy junction, handling over the food to them can be challenging if the traffic light turns green at wrong timing. But that day, I landed at the right spot, just in time to hand over the lunch box to them. The man took it from my hand and expressed his gratitude with “God bless ya”. My heart sunk as I watched them rushing over to the other side of the street, sitting down and started eating immediately. They must have not been eaten for days. The national unemployment rate was 7.6% couple of days ago and just yesterday, it has gone as bad as 15% for some states. And I thought to myself, even if less fortunate ones are willing to step up for the challenge, how many opportunities there are in this tough time. That day, I realized, instead of being caught in uncertainties, it’s time to count blessings that I have received. Instead of complaining, it’s time to learn to be in contentment. Won’t you?

“At the age of 20, we don’t care what the world thinks of us; at 30, we worry about what it is thinking of us; at 40, we discover that it wasn’t thinking of us at all.”
~Anonymous

If you ever think that age would be or could be a deterrant to you, take a look at what Bob Crowley has achieved by becoming the first oldest Survivor winner at 57 years old. I thought Survivor Gabon was one meaningful TV series to watch this time. If you think that only a shrewd, wicked, cunning person could win a game like survivor, it is not always true. If you think that one needs to be supersmart, fast, energetic to win the challenge, that again does not always hold. If you are a survivor fan, you would realize that Bob has played it so differently than others. With lots of patience and humility, caring, friendly and selfless attitude, Bob was never a threat to his team mates until he started winning the immunity challenges again and again towards the end of the series. But it was because of his kindness, selfless attitude that persuaded others to help him in achieving great success towards becoming the survivor winner. The moral of the story here, you don't necessary need to be mean all the time to win in this world. On the contrary, it is with integrity and great respect for others that you would be able gain support from others.