So here she is, the vector I've been working on most of this year on and off XD Hermione Granger, as played by Emma Watson. :p As you can see I've not done much, I'm determined to get her right!
PRESENT
As opposed to the last time I took on such a large scale vector. My Doctor Who. :p
PAST
As you can see the quality of this vector isn't anywhere near as good or complex as my Hermione one and I have a feeling I'm gonna be real proud of her! ^_^
Anyways, back to life as I know it.
I've got an assessment due soon. Looking at disabilities as portrayed in movies. Specifically in my case: "Forrest Gump". It's interesting that Hollywood always portrays disabilities like they're just a foggy cloud which is permanently placed around a "normal" person, and with time and a few heartwrenching jerks, the cloud can be lifted, and that person can be "normal" too. It kinda made me wonder anyway, wherein the difference between a "normal" person and a person with a disability lies?
I myself have a dyspraxia which manifests itself more physically than anything else. I was the kid who always crossed the finish line last. But I was also the kid who tried the hardest, until I realize that all my hard work would never pay off. So I stopped trying for years and years. Now, I can actually run if I try. I can run in a straight line and with practice maybe someday I'll be able to run as fast and for as long as all the others. That might not seem like much to the average person, to be able to run for a few minutes without tripping over or falling down, but to me and to someone with a disability, that seems like the most incredible euphoria in the world. Being able to run.
Now I'm not saying I'm disabled, far from it. But that whole thing throughout "Forrest Gump"
Source: http://Englandlover.deviantart.com/art/Run-Forrest-Run-33492339
RUN FORREST RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It just got me to thinking I suppose. That kid was lucky. He had legs that worked. So he made them work. And while my deductive reasoning tells me that Hollywood wants me to break down and cry from the life that he strives out and makes for himself, I also know that it's something worth crying about. The difference between having a disability and not having one isn't as big as you might think.
I'd just like to out a few names forward, some rather outstanding names actually, of people that you never knew had a disability.
Agatha Christie the famous author suffered from epilepsy.
Beethoven, one of the most incredible composers of all time had a hearing impairment.
Harry Truman, a US President, had Polio.
Julius Caesar and Napoleon both suffered from epilepsy, yet they conquered vast nations.
Ray Charles, Ray Orbison, Andrea Bocelli and Stevie Wonder all suffer from vision impairments.
Tom Cruise and Cher have Dyslexia for God's sake!
And yet, they move on, they learn to cope. But we still treat anyone with a disability like they've got a contagious disease! We're cautious around them, we treat them like small children. We expect them to be barely able to move and to speak with tiny voices. We act like they should be coddled and yet get upset if they're given rights we're not entitled to. We treasure them and in the same breath ignore them. On the bus they don't exist, turning a blind eye to their difficulties or talking loudly and exaggeratedly to them as though they're five years old and haven't yet learned to walk.
It's not fair for us to put their disability first. They're people first and foremost before anything else. They might have a disability that sidelines them during sports events. That stops them from speaking out against the latest political scandal or sporting disaster, that stops them from fully understanding and comprehending the world around them. But they're still people. Not lepers, not aliens from another planet.
Just People Too.
So remember that.
Now a bid congratulations to Michael Phelps today for his 8th Gold medal at Beijing!!!
A hearty Happy 19th Birthday to my darlin' Reo for tomorrow!!!
And a good night for now from me.
