Monday, June 25, 2007

Jenet Lower's Amazing Act Of Love Shows True Heroism

What makes a hero? The answers to this question can be quite numerous. But people don't have to be rich, famous or larger than life to be a hero. This is the story of Jenet Lowers. This is the story of a hero.

Almost six months ago, Lowers was in the midst of a wonderful life. She had just gotten engaged to her boyfriend Jeremy Antill and the young couple was expecting their first child in the summer. Lowers, 19, grew up with a loving father and step mother, was a "good kid" and even got elected prom queen in her small West Virginia high school. She then went on to attend West Virginia Northern Community College studying to become a pediatric nurse.

But on the morning of December 23, 2006, just two days before Christmas, everything changed.

At 10 weeks pregnant, a tragic car accident caused Lowers several serious injuries and pushed her in a coma. Over the next five plus months, she was shipped back and fourth from West Virginia to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Despite, severe neurological damage, Lowers was able to make some progress and held out until June 7, when despite being in her comatose state, doctors were able to perform a Caesarian section to deliver her and fiancée Antill's child Jayden Mathew.

Due to her condition, as well as bacterial infections she had acquired, Lowers was not able to experience any time with her child.

Tuesday, June 19, she died due to complications arising from her vegetative state.

As Lower's father Jim put it, "She wanted to hang on long enough to make sure he (Jayden) was OK."

Jenet Lowers' unwillingness to let her child die with her was a pure and incredible act of love, strength and yes, heroism. So the next time you reflect on what makes a hero, you may want to remind yourself of Lower's incredible story.

Sunday, June 3, 2007

Paris Hilton - Would She Be So Popular If She Was Poor?

Of course the possibilities are endless but the downright answer to the question, which seems more realistic than living in fantasy land, is that she will never be popular if she was born poor. Remember that money these days buys everything except of course simple pleasures like sleep, peace and insight on things that are far valuable than fame, cars and late-night parties.

If it weren't for her money, she could have been another insignificant person lurking around unnoticed but probably her life could have been more meaningful. She's a spoiled brat and everybody believes that, except maybe some young American girls who see her as an icon worth their adoration. She doesn't have a regard for other people. She wasn't able to finish high school and her popularity is focused on all the wrong sides. In short, if it weren't for her money, she could have not even made it to Hollywood or anywhere near it because lets face it – she has no talent, she's not the most beautiful person the world has seen and she's not blessed with a great body that teases all top models in the world.

Her popularity was only created by her highly-paid publicists plus her own talent on getting everybody's attention, regardless if she is being scrutinized or being loved.

She could never be popular if she were poor. Like all of us who, at one point of our lives, have dreamt to become famous or at least have the money that she was gifted with. And like all of us, it would take colossal effort before we can actually gain other people's regard. She, however, got all of these hassle free, without the slightest effort.

How many of us have to break our necks in work just to get through a day? How many of us have been toiling for ages just to create a better life than what we have? And how many of us have to develop ourselves into the ultimate working machines just to be noticed by the world.

We work so hard just to get promoted in our jobs. Sometimes, we spend even our unpaid hours for the sake of producing plausible accomplishments to advance our careers. Some people in other parts of the world work just to get by a lunch with the hanging doom of not eating for the next supper. And there are ordinary sons and daughters who turn themselves into modern age slaves just to help their parents with the finances.

There are countless faces in Hollywood who have to start writing hundreds of screenplays before they ever get the chance to be recognized, some even have to endure a lifelong failure to become a writer in a Hollywood film. And there are hundreds of other starlets who have got all the talents, the looks and the right attitude but never had the breaks. But Paris Hilton is a rare species. She no longer needs to undergo all the pains of hard work and she no longer have to wait for the break to come.

She can buy her own way into Hollywood and she could make her own break grounding chances, even if it means that she has to expose herself in Hollywood without a single strand of dignity on her back. And yet, with all her privileges, she seems to have forgotten how it means to become a human. Understandably, she will never understand the life of the poor and hardworking people but if she is lucky, she may have a glimpse of some painful realities that will spank her right on her face. And yet, even her personal realizations seem like a farfetched hope for all those concerned.

If she were born like most of us, little people as the elites call us, she may not have even get a peek at a Hollywood studio. All she has to settle with is the chance to at least see her favorite stars on movies and television and occasionally on lives shows. But unless she works really hard, to the point that she is all but spent because of labor, she may never have the chance to become the person she is now.

She is Paris Hilton because she has money. And this same money makes her famous. Take her fortune away then she's just another person trying to live a daily life in simplicity but with greater meaning.