INSPIRATION: Developing

Four.

I was inspired to jump and fly through the air,

to try something new – to dare to dare.

I jumped on the trampoline, up, past the trees;

but I only had the energy to leap with my knees,

with inspiration.

 

Eight.

I was inspired to open my mouth and sing,

to fill the air with tone – to hear my voice ring.

I stood on the stage and sang from the heart;

but my melody only had the spark to start,

with inspiration.

 

Thirteen.

I was inspired to chant from the Torah in my congregation,

to grow as a person - have more than just a celebration.

I chanted in my synagogue and recited what I knew;

but I only had the drive to become a full adult Jew,

with inspiration.

 

Sixteen.

I was inspired to achieve the best grades I could attain,

to study relentlessly – to enlighten my brain.

I revised on my desk till my entire body was tired,

but I could only work to earn the grades I desired,

with inspiration.

 

 

 

 

INSPIRATION: Finding Role Models

In this society, finding role models who are good influences is a challenge which not many of us succeed at so I asked some year eight students who their role models are.

Hannah from 8W1 said that Cara Delvigne inspires her because "she doesn't care about what people think of her" while Jade, also from 8W1, was just one of many who said Nelson Mandela because "he stood up for what he believed in". Fellow classmate, Eliana told me "Jessica Ennis not only inspires me but pushes me to keep trying as she never stops persevering."

I have had to ignore certain responses but I've realised the truth in one answer I very nearly dismissed: "myself". Admittedly, this was said by Yosef from 8W2 as he chuckled to himself but it was suddenly so clear: just as beauty starts from within, so does motivation.

INSPIRATION: 'You can be anything you want to be'

“You can be anything you want to be.”

That phrase certainly seemed to be ringing true for Eric LeGrand. He was average academically, never excelling in any particular area. However, his passion and talent for American football had gotten him a scholarship into Rutgers – one of the leading universities in America. People there were bigger, faster and stronger than he was. However, his hard work and determination led to him eventually becoming a starter for the team, providing a valuable contribution to the team’s defence. There was talk of him being drafted into the NFL, which would see him earn a minimum of $500,000 per year.

Not bad for someone “average.” However, on the 16^th October 2010, his life would change forever.

Rutgers were playing a game against Army in front of 30,000 people at Metlife Stadium, where two NFL teams play their home games. As Rutgers kicked the ball away, LeGrand sprinted downfield to try and make a tackle. He did. LeGrand collided with the ball carrier, and it was immediately obvious something was wrong. He lay on his back, completely still. As he was stretchered off the field, he tried to give a thumbs up gesture to the crowd. He couldn’t.

“I thought I was going to die” LeGrand recalls. “I thought that was going to be the end of my chapter.”

He was nearly right. He’d fractured his C3 and C4 vertebrae, and needed emergency surgery to stabilize his spine. The surgery was a success, but he was paralyzed from the waist down, with doctors predicting that he’d never be able to breathe without use of a respirator.

That wasn’t the way Eric was, and it took him just six days before beginning to practice breathing independently. It took him a week more before he regained some movement in his shoulders and sensation throughout his body. Just seven months later, he had obtained movement in his arms, and began tweeting pictures of him standing upright at therapy. While all this was going on, he hadn’t forgotten about his education. Amazingly, he began to continue his course online, as he would use Skype to hear lectures three times a week. How does a 20 year old go from the prospect of fulfilling his lifelong dream and a chance to make millions to the reality that he may never walk again – and simply carry on with his life?

Well, that was just the way Eric was. When talking about losing the ability to feed himself, he admits that “At first it was a little bit weird; now I don’t care, I just want to eat the food” before breaking out into a big grin. After the two and a half hours it takes him to get ready each morning, he spends the next four in gruelling therapy – while smiling. He’s never once looked around and complained about how bad he has it, or wished that the accident hadn’t happened. He can’t change what’s happened. But he can change what will happen next. His first public appearance came just over a year after the injury, as he was set to go down the tunnel with the Rutgers coaching staff. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he was about to head out into a blizzard. His mother tried to talk him out of it. Not a chance. This was just “another thing” for Eric. The occasion was voted “The best moment in sports 2011” by Sports Illustrated.

When his college coach Greg Schiano left for a job in the NFL, he made Eric’s dream a reality, and phoned him to tell him that they’d be signing him. Despite being absolutely delighted, his first thought wasn’t for him – he asked Schiano “Do you really want to waste a roster spot on me? You could use that.” A month later, after attending the team’s practices, he retired so that Schiano could have that roster spot open.

It came as a surprise to no-one that his next career would be in motivational speaking. His talks always start with the same line – “I believe that I’ll be walking all over this world soon.”

You can be anything you want to be.

INSPIRATION: The Greek gods

Oh Zeus,

We reach to you,

Let your thunder charge through the cities' veins,

And let your might ignite our world with power,

So that even on the darkest days,

We have you to show us the ways

Oh Poseidon,

We reach to you,

Let your waters be accessed by everyone,

And let your produce be consumed by all,

So even when the land animals go stale,

We have your waters to sate us

Oh Hermes,

We reach to you,

Let your power draw the four corners of the Earth close by,

And let your powers allow us to see our friends from afar,

So that even on the dullest of days,

We have you to show us our friends.

Oh Hephaestus,

We reach to you,

Let your technology ease our lives,

And let your powers stop us from hard labour,

So that even on days of high traffic,

We have more time for ourselves.

Oh Hades,

We reject you,

Let your diseases come forth,

And your suffering approach,

For we can heal ourselves,

And we can live longer, yet.

INSPIRATION: A Wave

I am inspired by a wave, something that seems so small yet has so much to offer.  There are two types of waves, two very different waves though still very inspiring.

A hand wave - This wave is inspiring because it is a simple way of saying hello. By waving at someone, it can put a smile on a face and make another person happy.  Each time someone waves at me ort says a simple word like hello, I feel happy and confident, ready to start a day. Waves are very essential in your everyday life because they can brighten up your day.

A wave in the sea - This wave is inspiring not because they rise and fall but because each time they fall they never fail to rise again. This brings on a skill of determination, something which is very important, I always try to be motivated in all the subjects I attend and always rise above anything that gets in my way. If you think about it, that’s exactly what these waves do, the rise each time after the fall, their motivated to try again and again.

Because of these two different ways, I have been inspired to make another person happy by something as a simple as a friendly day to day wave, it has also given  me a sense of determination which was a skill I didn’t have before, I am now a more motivated and confident person ready to accept struggles that I face.

INSPIRATION: Bullying and the Long, Dark Shadow of Anti-Semitism

Mia looked up with an amazed expression on her face, “Charlotte,” she called, “I’ve got a place in the same school as you.” They were both thrilled that they had obtained places at the same comprehensive school near their homes. Barnet Academy had a reasonable reputation and had children from all sorts of backgrounds learning to accept each other.

As the best friends walked into school together on their first day, Mia’s eyes shone with laughter while Charlotte simply danced with delight. The girls were very happy indeed. However, their joy did not last long. During break a girl named Tara strode up to the girls wearing an angry expression on her face. “You girls Jewish?” she questioned. 

“What’s it to you?”  replied Mia.  “I hate Jews!” announced Tara.  After her venomous proclamation, Tara flicked her silky blonde hair and strode off confidently, sniggering to herself.

The two girls were numb, as if they had been slapped in the face.  Charlotte froze like a statute while Mia’s kneed wobbled and she dropped her head to face the ground.

After a stunned silence, their gaze met and eyes locked; they were totally lost for words.

Over the following days and weeks, Tara and her new gang of friends began giving the girls nasty, scornful stares.  Tara’s beady eyes looking upon the two girl as if they were criminals.  Charlotte and Mia both knew that Tara and her friends hated them.  She was aggressive, rude and made fun of the girls constantly.  They knew that she was up to no good.

Every day that the girls went to school they were melancholy and became unsure of themselves.  “Charlotte, we really don’t fit in,” whispered Mia to Charlotte one day. “I know… NO one likes us,” agreed Charlotte.  Suddenly, Mia turned around only to find Tara and her friends laughing hysterically at Charlotte.  Mia was utterly confused but slowly circled protectively around her best friend.

“What are they laughing at?” questioned Charlotte.  After some time strolling clumsily around each other, they eventually found a little post-it-note stuck on both of their backs.  The paper read: “They are the Jews!”

Charlotte’s face became red and puffy with embarrassment.  Mia just wanted to cry out for help. The girls felt as if the whole world was watching them.  They knew that Tara and her friends were bullies.

Things gradually grew much worse.  One day, Mia found that a swastika had been drawn all over the cover of her English book.  Later that day, Tara and a group of her friends surrounded Charlotte in the playground.  Mia immediately strode over to them and bellowed – “Leave her alone – you bullies!” as she went to comfort her friend. The group looked aggressive and threatening and both girls felt intimidated by their scornful looks.  One girl demanded all their money whilst Tara pulled their hair.  It was only their deafening screams that eventually made the bullies run away.  Charlotte then sobbed uncontrollably whilst Mia was determined to do something about the horrific situation.

Whilst waiting for the bus that evening, Mia noticed a sticker, which had been attached to the side of the bus shelter.  It was advertising help for children; it was called ChildLine and had a telephone numbers written in bold letters (0800 1111).  Suddenly Mia had a great idea! It struck her like a lightening bolt: “We should call this number!” exclaimed Mia, “We need help, don’t we?”  Mia took her phone and dialled ChildLine …

When they contacted the adviser in ChildLine, she was very sympathetic.  She told the girls that they had a right not to be bullied and had done nothing wrong.  The counsellor gave the girls a great deal of advice as to how they should stand up for themselves and how they should tell a trusted adult about exactly what was is happening in school.  The advisor also said that a representative from ChildLine could come to their school to talk to the class, or a group of children, about what bullying was and the effects on everyone when bullying occurs.  Both girls breathed an enormous sign of relief and tears began to roll down Charlotte’s cheeks.

That day, Mia had stood up to the bullies, stayed strong even though she was frightened, found a solution to the problem and proved to be a tower of strength to her best friend.  Mia was a great inspiration, not only to Charlotte, but to the whole school on how to overcome bullying.

INSPIRATION: The Amazing Artistic Robot

This story takes place around 50 years after the events of “The Positronic Man” by Isaac Asimov

Dr Solomons stood gaping at the robot before him, bewildered by its actions.

“What happened to it?” he asked.

The man, who Dr Solomons assumed was the owner of the robot, explained: “Well, this ere’ robot was bringin’ some empty cups down, when my son came chargin’ round the corner and tripped down the stairs, or at least he would’ve if not for the robot. It pushed ‘im outta the way, but it fell down the stairs itself!”

“I see,” said Dr Solomons, rubbing his stubble in thought, “And I’m assuming that after it fell, it started doing this”, motioning to the robot.

“Yup, that’s ‘bout the gist of it,” the man said, “though I don’t see what’s so wrong with a robot painting. It’s not like it’s goin’ mad tryin’ to kill us or anything!”

Dr Solomon studied the robot. It was seated on a small stool in the middle of the room, brush in hand. Spread around it was mountains of sheets of paper and canvases, each filled with thousands of colours. Dr Solomon picked one up and examined it. ‘They’re all abstract paintings’ he noted, looking around the room. He quickly jotted it down and returned to examining the paintings.

“So what’s the problem with it?” asked the man.

Dr Solomons sighed, “It’s not the fact that is painting that’s the problem. It’s the fact that it’s able to that is.” He examined the robot for its serial code. ‘NDR-140’ Solomons thought, ‘They were discontinued for a similar reason.’ He chuckled silently to himself

Clearing his throat, he turned to face the man. “Would you mind if we took this robot back with us? It would be of great interest to my superiors. Of course, you would be compensated, and it would be replaced with a newer model.”

The man scratched his head. “Well… it’s been in the family for a while now, but I suppose if we’re gettin’ a newer one, it’s okay for you to take ‘im.” He said nervously.

Dr Solomons deactivated the robot and called the movement team to pick it up. As he drove away a thought crossed his mind: ‘I bet Susan Calvin would be having a ball if she was still alive.’

Images flashed across the board as the people sat around the table watched.

“As you can see, scans indicate that the positronic pathways related to the three laws are still intact and functional.” Solomons pointed to another image, “However, it appears that much of the positronic brain was damaged in the accident, causing it to be obsessed with painting random strokes, which seems to correlate with the fact that all the ‘art’ is abstract”

The man sitting and the end of the table groaned. “But what I want to know is, is it a danger? Is it sentient? We stopped production of that model for a reason you know, and if something like that happens again I-“

“No,” Solomons interrupted, “There’s no risk. It’s effectively a pile of metal that swings a brush around randomly. If I were you, I’d just show it off as ‘The Amazing Artistic Android’ or something along those lines.

All the people sat at the table let out a sigh of relief.

Lily crouched under the rope barrier. She’d heard so much about the ‘Artistic Android’ from the news and her parents, and since the man who was showing him off had left for lunch and her parents had just gone to the toilet, she decided she would sneak in for a closer look. The robot was sat at the stool, brush in hand, painting on a wide canvas. She stood to in front of it and peeked around.

“Hi there, my name’s Lily, could you draw a picture of me?” she asked innocently.

The robot stopped painting and looked at her. It cocked its head sideways and twitched slightly. After a few seconds, it turned around and continued painting.

“I guess it’s true,” she said glumly, “It’s just a dumb old broken robot”, and she turned away to go find her parents.

Just as she was about to leave, she heard the stool creak from behind her. She looked behind her, and saw the robot holding out a canvas. She took it from the robot and examined it.

“What a nice painting of a lily!” she exclaimed, grinning.

INSPIRATION: Just a Buzzword

Okay, I’ll admit it. When this term’s creative piece was announced as “inspiration”, I was a tiny bit sceptical. When I say a tiny bit sceptical, I mean something more akin to totally sick of the word. I think I have some explaining to do.

To me, “inspiration” is just one of a swarm of irritating “buzzwords”. Unfamiliar with the term? Try “evaluate”, “holistic”, or perhaps “team player”. The media, teachers, bosses, and even trusted friends are susceptible to bombarding us with these supposedly engaging, wonderful words. I for one don’t really like them. They are used when one is unable to articulate, are usually out of context and unhelpful. Inspiration usually fits in with this unfortunate band of words, and as such I expected a clichéd bundle of creative pieces.

Take the Olympic slogan “inspire a generation”. I was inspired enough to play badminton one Friday lunch, before the smell of chips was too enticing to ignore. On that note, JFS is no exception to the buzzword craze- every classroom has a not so discrete “think about your thinking” poster littered with big buzzwords surrounded by their own horde of the little devils. (Despite loathing the paper pests, I now have an odd affection for them, perhaps due to their ludicrous content.)

But after contemplating how a rant would be brilliant (I still squeezed it in) I thought that the fault is not in the word itself; it has a noble, humbling feeling that has been corrupted in the modern day. Rather than ignore its capture, we must salvage its beauty from the hollow clutches of society.

This is in part due to the coming challenges the world faces- and a heavy dose of inspiration will be needed. Inspiration to face climate change, inspiration to face rising living costs, inspiration to face poverty and disease. Real, raw inspiration, not the fluffy, useless kind, will be essential. To embark upon parlance I usually wouldn’t venture near: We shall need inspiration to be the best that we can be”. 

INSPIRATION: Visiting Israel

This year I have the opportunity to visit Israel in June on a school trip. I have been inspired to go to Israel ever since I was old enough to learn about the importance of Israel and what makes Israel an interesting place to visit. Israel means much more to me than just a country in the world; it is special to me in many different ways.

Israel is the home of the Jewish people. Hashem promised to give the Jewish people the Land of Israel, (Canaan during the time of the Torah), as the home of the Jewish people. The Land of Israel is described as “a land flowing with milk and honey”. This description defines Israel as a special place, a country like no other. In Israel a large number of Jews live together as one family. As Jews we are all related, if you go back hundreds of generations, maybe even thousands of generations, you will find that you (as a Jew) are very distantly related to the three forefathers - Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaacov. Visiting Israel for me is a chance to see the home of Judaism.

There are a number of landmarks in Israel that I would like to visit, including the Kotel, Mount Sinai, Masada, the Dead Sea and the Dome of the Rock. I have been inspired to visit the Kotel, because of all the connections that you can make with it - the Kotel is the only part of the Jewish temple that is left. I think that visiting Israel, especially the Kotel would complete my Jewish identity. It is important to learn about Jewish history; to see this history through the landmarks in Israel. Israel is bursting with Jewish history, which makes the country so special and significant. The Dead Sea is another interesting place in Israel that I would like to see: I have heard that you can float on the Dead Sea because the water is so salty. This makes the Dead Sea unusual compared to other seas and inspires me to visit it.

Another reason why I am inspired to visit Israel is to experience what daily life is like there and to taste genuine Israeli food.  From what I know already, day to day life in Israel is different to daily life in London, for example school days are different, from about 7am in the morning until about 1pm in the afternoon. Another thing that I know is that some people in Israel live together, as one community, in kibbutz and work together to prepare meals and other activities like this. I don’t know very much about daily life in Israel but I am intrigued to find out more about what life is like living in Israel.

To sum up, the reason for my inspiration to visit Israel is to learn about Jewish history, daily life in Israel and to able to make stronger connections to Judaism. If I was chosen to go on the Israel trip it would certainly be a memorable experience for me that I wouldn’t forget. A trip to Israel would be amazing!

INSPIRATION: Malala - A Human

“Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world”. This is the wisdom of the then 16 year old Taliban survivor, now Nobel prize winner, that will undoubtedly characterise an era. Yet this era has seen attitudes towards women in all its perplexities, becoming ever more subverted under a myriad of stereotypes, misconceptions and alienations. Because of this, the word feminism has lost its original and fundamental orientation around human rights.

Angelina Jolie, Emma Watson. Jennifer Lawrence…the mere mention of these golden girls is enough to make any tabloid salivate. Yet throw in a visit to the UN and the press are practically cutting off an arm to record their (admittedly well meaning) expostulations about how “It should be illegal for someone to be called fat on TV”. Dubbed “famenism” the recent rise of tweets, blogs and internet memes have given the face of feminism a glamorous makeover. But does it need it? Some may argue yes... The ghosts of the “radicals” of second wave feminism, still brandishing their burning braziers, haunt public perception- even the name “Germaine Grier” can spawn a frenzy of violent expurgations of horror. Yet a simple truth underlies both of the images. That they are just that, an image, another “wave of feminism” to identify with.

An even more pugnacious representation of women’s rights is that it is merely an economic strategy. Empowered women undeniably are less likely to marry early and have children before they are ready. Economically, that means healthier, more productive families and greater earnings potential. Yet the benefits are often exploited. When the long-held feminist ideal of mother’s choice manifested in the corporate proposal for egg freezing (in the interest of financial incentive for the company) an uproar ensued. This exposes its status as a narrow articulation of empowerment that fails to recognise wider concerns about inequality and women’s rights.

Whilst I have no answer to gender inequality, Malala is setting us in the right direction. The only definition that she does not defy, is herself. We must act not out of admiration to a celebrity, nor allegiance to a long convoluted movement and certainly not for economic gain. We must act because we owe it to ourselves as humans, humans with fundamental and undeniable rights. This status is more powerful than any other definition.

“I am Malala”.

INSPIRATION: Exploring the Definition

Inspiration, could, perhaps come from anywhere. Whether the idea of it could be used by an over publicised ‘modern’ artist or an interesting quote on a classroom wall. It’s true.

If, of course, you believe in old, outdated buzzwords used by the media to express something new, exciting, innovative or inspirational but in reality, it’s probably just a slightly altered Hyundai with their trademark slogan; “inspiration comes from everywhere”.

Inspiration could come from or be an object, a person or what the object symbolises, what that person has done, what goal they may have achieved, despite the odds, perhaps art, technology, the past, the future, music. Of course it could just as well be a brick wall, a paper aeroplane, a used tissue or muddy puddle.

A definition of Inspiration is ‘an inspiring action or thought’. It’s certainly a possibility, it could be the idea that it is a word used by one who cannot fathom the idea of an intellectual epiphany, or simply underestimates their own cognitive power.

I personally believe in the latter, that inspiration is just a word used by the media but has no true or greater meaning. I’m not saying that one cannot be inspired by something, but simply that inspiration is due to a profound idea rather than a tacky punch-line.

INSPIRATION: My Grandpa

Have you ever imagined how your life would be different if a key person were not in it, like a mother, father, sibling or grandparent? Some people are so important to making us who we are that without them; our very identity would be changed. My grandpa is a key figure in my life that has left an indelible impression on me. He is a man of great influence because of his stability, his work that he does out of the goodness of his heart and his independent spirit. 

My grandpa has inspired me as we have a close relationship with each other and he has a great deal of wisdom, I am always asking for advice.

I have many reasons why I look up to my grandpa; one of them is his generosity. He always listens to what other people have to say and cares for everybody’s individual problems. He helps lots of different Jewish schools and raises money for them out of his own free will just because he wants to help people. He has an incredible sense of humour and can always put a smile on your face no matter what.

Certainly, I would not be the person I am today, inside or out, without the influence of my grandpa upon my life. I can only aspire to imitate his stability, his generosity and his humour.

INSPIRATION: Where to begin?

I find writing about abstract nouns rather difficult. Why does inspiration occur? What is actual hatred? How is my interpretation of beauty different from yours? …And so on. I was struggling with what inspiration actually meant, but my dictionary helpfully defined it as “the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, esp. to do something creative”. This would probably explain why I have never been “inspired” to do maths.

I don’t personally like the idea of inspiration. It strikes me as too unbalanced, or unreliable; something that has to be given. The Ancient Greeks would invoke the muses for inspiration when telling the Homeric tales for which their civilsation is renowned. They would say things like “tell me, Muse, the story of that resourceful man who was driven to wander far and wide” or “anger – sing, goddess, the anger of Achilles” and whichever benevolently divine being they believed was in charge of literature at the time would send down a spark of inspiration that would allow them to feed their families for another year.

To me, that isn’t inspiration. It’s not something that can or can’t be given, but rather something that can or can’t happen. Inspiration isn’t about an invocation to a pagan set of gods. It is, instead, the feeling that I get before I run a race, where my heart is beating a little too fast and I feel a bit like I’ve had too many shots of red bull. It’s the night before a particularly important essay or piece of coursework is due, and yet the laptop insists on restarting every half hour. It’s the unrefined panic, the flashes in the dark, the pure and unadulterated inconsistent seeking of a new edge on which for minds to sharpen themselves.

Authors and those involved in the creative arts don’t invoke the muses anymore. At the front of books, I see instead fragments like “For Phyllis, who made me put the dragons in” (Martin’s Game of Thrones) and “For Daisy, who kicked out the walls of my heart”(Donnelly’s Revolution). I think this shows that the human race has come a long way from the Peloponnesian War and Odysseus’ journey home. It is other people, not gods, who have become our inspiration for art in the forms of literature, music and poetry. We have become able to see, through others, the flashes in the dark that otherwise would not have existed without each other. 

INSPIRATION: Check your emails!

The very last thing I need when my alarm scares the sleep out of me, the bitterly cold air of London starts to blow in through the windows and freeze up my warm bed, is the fact that I need to be enthusiastic. Yes enthusiastic about getting on a bus with a bunch of screaming children, who I will then sit next to in classes for the next several hours of the day.  It is a difficult time for someone like me, who treasures every second they can spend in peace and solitude.

 I have been in the School now for a year and the daily routine sticks in your head in a way no revision guide ever could. I count down the seconds until I rush to my class and stumble past impatient students who are experiencing the same amount of stress I am.

This was last year.

One Sunday morning, I woke up with the fact that school begins tomorrow attacking my every thought. I made myself a cup of Earl Grey tea (As 11 year olds do on such radiant mornings, no?) and turned on my laptop. I noticed something different.

Was it the fact that my screensaver was still a picture of revision words from my French end-of-year exam I meant to revise for? Or was it the fact that my brother left all of his gaming websites open, letting viruses make their way into my personal documents?

No. It was the fact that above my email icon was a big red notification that read 1,043 emails.

1,043 emails. To be honest, I didn’t know 1,043 emails could fit in my inbox.

I was oddly excited, not knowing how my phone had not rang throughout the whole night, but opened up my emails.

I scrolled past all the advertising which I never read anyway, as well as all the emails telling me my subscription to National Geographic has ended, even though I have never subscribed. I finally found one email that caught my attention. It was the 723rd email down.

The title was ‘Read. It will change you’. It was sent by an anonymous person.

Thinking this was another spam letter about plastic surgery or Yoga classes, I quickly skimmed through it. I got to a section called ‘Quotes: When you really need them’.

I read through some of the quotes. They were very interesting, but each one so unique and out of context, that it was odd why they were all bunched up together.

One read: ‘Help them in the morning, so that they’ll be help to you that evening’

Another read: ‘Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making plans’

I merely took notice of the two. Logged off and went elsewhere.

It is the day after. 

The alarm’s constant nagging ran through my ear canal and attacked my brain cells. The bed had lost its warmth. The sky was still dull and dark, just like it was as I closed my eyes. My uniform was folded and placed on the chair, just as it was last night- only colder. I dressed, drank a cup of tea, and lugged around my backpack.

I arrived at school to the shout of my dear friend asking me for help. I was far too stressed to think, as I had other plans, but all of a sudden I remembered the quote: ‘help them in the morning, so that they’ll be help to you that evening’

So I helped him. He got what he needed and then the bell went.

After I arrived back home later that night, I remembered that I still had that project to complete. I turned on my laptop, and as I did. My friend called me on Skype.

“Hey” he said “So…I was wondering if you need help with the project? I have some tips- I sent them to you via email.”

I was dumbfounded. The quote was true. I was still not convinced though.

I was rereading the other quote again from the email as my friend shouted through the microphones “So…want to see a movie next weekend, or grab a bite to eat?”

“Yeah, sure” I replied. We debated for at least an hour on which movie was best and which restaurant was better and so on and so forth.”

We eventually agreed and I had to go. I ran downstairs.

Everyone was crying.

“Where were you?” My mother said “We called you but you didn’t come”

I was worried, very worried. I asked what happened

“We have some news…” They said

“Your aunt is having a baby girl”

I was so happy, everyone laughed and cried. This was really a momentous occasion.

And then it hit me: Life is what happens to you as you are busy making plans.

Until this day, I do not know who the person that sent me the quotes was. He still sends them to me every day, and every day is an inspiration which motivates me to do something different. Something that might just change the way I think about life.

So at 6:30am, the alarm does not torture my every nerve into thinking the day will be a gloomy one. It tells me that the race to achieve and succeed has begun.

INSPIRATION: An Ode

Inspiring children always helps them learn.

Never seeing it coming it comes quietly,

Secretly into their minds.

People who inspire others without knowing it,

Inspire people even more than before.         

Rather than trying to be someone you are not

Always try your best at being you.

Trying hard to inspire someone can’t always work.

Intelligent people would realise

Only the real you will inspire others.

No matter what happens someone is always inspired by YOU.

INSPIRATION: The Films that Inspire me

From a very young age, I have always had a colossal love for films. I love the stories films tell, the feelings they evoke and how they influence and inspire me. I have chosen many films from a wide range of film genres and topics that have made an impression on me.

For me, ‘Schindler’s List’ is a film that inspires me massively. It tells the story of Oskar Schindler who saved more than a thousand Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust. I find this film inspirational as it tells the story of how one man saved a generation of lives by employing them in his factories. This film also inspires me because it shows that if you can use your strength and determination for a good cause, you have potential to stop monstrosities occurring and make the world a better place. This message is still relevant today because of the many wars and troubles that the world still faces.

One of my favourite topics for films that have influenced me is people standing up for their rights such as freedom and there have been many examples of classic films that fall into this category. A recent example is the excellent ‘12 Years A Slave’ which is about a free African-American man called Solomon Northup who is captured and sold into slavery. The film features excellent performances and won the best picture at the Oscars this year. This film inspires me because it shows us the heart-breaking truth that an innocent man can be captured and tortured for no reason and the will and determination that people can display under horrendous circumstances.

Other films that I find inspirational in this category include ‘Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom’, ‘The Help’ and ‘The Butler’. The Mandela film shows Nelson Mandela stood up for his rights and spent many years in prison because he fought for his belief that people of any race should be equal- as do the scripts in ‘The Help’ and ‘The Butler’.

Another type of inspirational films that I like to watch are films which see a character overcoming a problem. Examples of film that fit into this category are ‘Rain Man’, ‘The King’s Speech’ and ‘The Blind Side’. Rain Man is about a man who discovers that his estranged father has died and left all of his multimillion dollar estate to his other son Raymond who is autistic. I find ‘Rain Man’ inspirational as it shows that even if you have a disability, you can still be a great person and this film helps get rid of the misconception that you can’t do much good if you have a disability. The ‘King’s Speech’ is inspirational as it shows George VI overcoming his stammer and that you can be a great leader even if you have something that makes you struggle more than others. ‘The Blind Side’ is inspirational for me as it shows you can come from nothing with a very poor background, to then achieving your dreams.

I also love a motivational story that includes an underdog. My favourite film from this category is the sports drama ‘Rocky’ which is about Rocky Balboa who is an uneducated but nice debt collector in Philadelphia. ‘Rocky’ then starts out as a club fighter who later gains a chance at the World Heavyweight Championship. I find Rocky an incredibly amazing story because this is another example of a ‘rags to riches’ story and shows that even if you lose, in the end, you have tried your hardest and can still be proud of your achievements.

Survival stories based on real life tragedies are also a great source for an inspirational movie with two examples being ‘Titanic’ and ‘World Trade Center’. Titanic is an influential film because it shows many people on board the Titanic trying to help others survive and escape safely off the ship and ‘World Trade Center’ is influential because it shows the courage of the firefighters that went in the Twin Towers to save many civilians during ‘9/11’.

The last feature that I think an inspirational movie should contain is courage. Best Picture Oscar winner ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ is a perfect example of a film that is motivational and contains courage in the characters. ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ is about a young man from the slums of Mumbai who appears on the Indian version of ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ and does so well that he is accused of cheating. The film is shown in flashbacks which explain how he knows all the answers and the film is inspirational because it shows that if you have courage, you can achieve a lot, despite having many drawbacks to stop you from reaching your goal. A recent example of an influential film is ‘The Fault In Our Stars’ which is about a girl who has cancer. ‘The Fault In Our Stars’ shows courage as the main character, Hazel,  tries to stay brave and live her life even though she has cancer and is inspirational as it shows that you don’t have to change even if you have a horrible illness.

However inspirational films are not always about standing up to rights, having courage or the other topics that have been mentioned above. An inspirational film can also be something that personally inspires you. For me, many animation films inspire me because when I am older, I want to work in the film business doing a job linked to animation. The main films from this genre that influence me are ‘Toy Story 3’ and ‘WALL.E’ because the designs in these two films are ‘in another world’. They also influence me because they both contain beautiful and interesting stories with well-developed and thought through characters.

Now I have told you all the films that influence and inspire me, think about the films that inspire you.

INSPIRATION: 'No that is not Inspirational!'

“I think, therefore I am.” The words first attributed to Renée Descartes are often repeated when someone wants to re-assert that there must be some sort of intelligence somewhere in the universe. Not long ago someone told me that they find the sentence “inspirational.” I somewhat cynically challenged them to how it was inspirational, since if it was to pass that test, it would have had to push them to do something that they would not otherwise do. To my smug glee, they didn’t tell me about how Descartes re-lit, inside of them, a flame of hope in existential being which convinced them to climb Mount Kilimanjaro for some reason. Nor did they tell me of how it helped them reach their epiphany of realising their profound curiosity with the universe and the nature of life and how that, in turn, caused them to become a scientist. No, no, to my smug glee, they replied to my challenge “I don’t know… It just is, y’know?”

No. I don’t know.

Inspiration refers to something which sets into action another thing of great magnitude. That is why inspiration does not come in the form of logging on to Tumblr, viewing an image where the pixels have been arranged into the shape of letters to for words to form sentences which clearly are not true.  Yet they still provoke the response of “OMG so true!” and maybe a “#deep” and a share on Facebook.

Many things are still inspired. 2000 years of mainstream European thought was inspired largely by Aristotle and the last few hundred years largely by Galileo. The first moon landing was inspired by the combination of thousands of years of curiosity and awe and then a real American desire to beat the Russians. Being inspired does not mean liking or enjoying something, it means that that thing has changed you.

INSPIRATION: Forrest Gump

Every year I introduce the film ‘Forrest Gump’ to a group of my friends, usually the ones who have been intentionally avoiding it or categorised it as too cheesy, too long or a sob story. They all love it.  And who could fail to shed a tear and say "aww", when Forrest meets his son for the first time, and you realise that they are every bit the same as each other? That makes Forrest feel like everything he has ever done has finally paid off.

Regardless of the fact that Gump’s IQ is around 75, he is somehow exceptionally gifted with an outstanding array of talents. He teaches Elvis how to wiggle his hips, he beats the Chinese at Ping-Pong, he runs faster than a marathon runner ever could and in Vietnam, he saves his wounded army members from the Cong in a way even Christopher Reeve might have found surprising. Although, Gump just can't help being a hero and by association, he lets us every day viewers anticipate what might happen if we tried. This fantasy world of ‘Forrest Gump’ depicts some of those childhood dreams we’ve all had come to life in the real world, and has inspired me to accomplish many things throughout my life so far and many more to come. 

INSPIRATION: Sax Man

“As he [played], I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once.” - John Green

I lived my life. Waking up, waiting for the time I would sleep again. Falling asleep, dreaming of nothing. In fact I fell always. Spending my days so carelessly they mashed into a blur, when, without realising it, 10 years of my life had passed. I did not care, only because I had nothing to care about, I had nothing beautiful in my life.

It was November, I believe, November 2010, when I first heard that sweet, sweet Jazz. A timid boy, about my age, I did not listen when they introduced him, however, listen was all I could do when he played his saxophone. Listen is not the right word. I was living that Jazz. I was in love with that Jazz.

I once asked a wise man what the point of art is and he asked me back, “What is the point of living without art?” I never truly understand those words until I heard the Sax Man play.

Love flowed from a truly immortal man into an instrument of pure incredible Jazz producing the sweet beautiful tones of inspiration. The Sax Man can inspire us all, not by the perfect man he is, but by his ability to make us all appreciate the beauty in life and the beauty in ourselves.

Words from the Sax Man himself:

Me: got anything inspirational? Something about Jazz maybe

Sax Man: That is not helpful. Be more specific. Sick saxophone solo.

INSPIRATION: Chasing Inspiration

What is inspiration? I lay on my back, looking up to the sky, watching tree branches sway against the blue – still no ideas for that essay. Browse on the internet, trawling for motivation – an hour has disappeared but no words have appeared on the paper. How did JK ever get through her first page, let alone find 7 books out of her head?

Intangible and inconsistent inspiration has deserted me as my deadline looms nearer. Watching a movie or two seems a good plan – plenty of creative ideas there, a few more hours tick by. Listen to our passionate teachers, always ready to help. ‘Your time is passing by, much faster than you know – do you realise how many hours are left before those great exams? Run home as fast as you can and start revising now!’

I can feel the panic rising, my heart is beating fast – the headache is beginning and I have no idea where to start. As my breath starts coming short and fast, I feel my duvet beckon, I’m sure a rest would help. Another day gone, I start to write, words begin to tumble out – no more time to wait for the inspiration fairy to strike!

INSPIRATION: A painting

I chose to paint this as my creative piece for the theme of inspiration as the picture itself represented such movement and determination that putting it out on a piece of paper with paints would be a real challenge.

Also, it was a horse and horses are inspirational animals.