Why Me? Why Not?
by Karina Jhangiani
District Runner-up

Why me? Why not? We often wonder why, amongst all of the people living in the world, we are the ones facing the difficult situations. In today's society, the little things in life seem to be weighing us all down. Even children are not immune from these trials. I once knew a little girl who would sit on the same playground bench everyday and pretend to be occupied with a book. When in reality, the image of the other girls playing would cause her heart to ache. "Why me? Why don't I have any true friends to play with?" she would wonder. But she did not stop questioning there. Her problem, just like those encountered by adults, lead to a less common question. Why not me? For it is those individuals that can turn the "Why me?" into "Why not me?" that are able to rise above their troubles. How do I know this? I was once that little girl. I asked the second question. Because of my response to it, I went from being an isolated child to having friends who believe in me, but more importantly to believing in myself. After all, why not?
Let me ask you this. What do you think would have happened if Helen Keller questioned why she deserved to be deaf and blind and forever stopped at that one question? Would she have been able to go on as a world-known inspiration for triumphing over obstacles? Being human, she probably asked herself various questions such as, "Why can't I see the ones I love? Why can't I hear my mother's voice?" However, her journey didn't stop there and Helen Keller was also able to ask herself the toughest question of all; why not me? The answer to the question was simple because sometimes life is unfair. Helen's darkness was placed upon her, due to no fault of her own, but the amount of light she brought in was entirely based on her perspective. So, with the help of her changed perspective and positive attitude, Helen Keller lit a candle in her darkness and made people believe that miracles could happen.
Now let's imagine an eight-year old boy, who is dyslexic. Unfortunately, his parents, teachers and friends are unaware of his disorder. While sitting in school, he wonders why he is not like the other boys. "Why do the letters seem to only dance in front of me while I read? It's not fair, why does my brother get to be a genius, while I am classified as an idiot. Why me?" he ponders in class. A few months later his disorder is now known to him and he tries to focus on the positives. "Why not me? Don't I enjoy being creative and unique?" he now concludes. These questions help him accept dyslexia and work around its negative aspects. For all we know, he can now make a difference and follow the footsteps of history makers such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Albert Einstein just by changing his viewpoint.
Who has ever heard of the wonderful piano composition titled Fur Elise? The composition was written by a man named Ludwig Van Beethoven. During Ludwig's childhood, his father, would often mistreat him and force him to entertain his friends throughout the night. The physical abuse may have caused the young prodigy to question why he had a father who was an alcoholic and had a horrible temper. In 1801, at the age of thirty-one Beethoven's soon approaching deafness became known to him. At this point, any composer, after loosing their ability to hear, would experience self-pity and wonder why they deserved such injustice, but not Beethoven. "Why not me? Why must the next great composer not be me?" In fact Beethoven once wrote to his friend, Franz Wegeler. "You must think of me as being as happy as it is possible to be on this earth. No! I cannot endure it. I will seize fate by the throat. It will not wholly conquer me! Oh how beautiful it is to live". This determination and positive outlook enabled Beethoven to make history.
Life is filled with some people who end as winners and some who do not. No one is born a winner or loser. The only difference is that one, after feeling sorry for themselves, realizes that they have no right to fight their fate, moves on with acceptance and works hard to achieve success, while the other forever succumbs to defeat, giving up all hopes of making use of the gift that was bestowed upon them. A powerful gift is given to all, cherished by some and wasted by others. No matter how hard we try, we cannot control the facts; the only aspect we can control is our perspective. The next time you ask yourself why me, whether it is for something trivial or something as significant as discovering you have cancer, please don't stop there. The journey must continue! Ask yourself why not me and you will realize that after accepting the facts, you will definitely come out as a winner and will take advantage of the gift bestowed upon you. What is this mysterious gift I speak of? This gift is none other than the wonderful gift of life.