Inspired by Charice Pempengco

I cannot describe how I first heard Charice sing on Glee. She has a voice that will literally make you cry for some reason. I think it might be the resonation with brain wave or something but yes, she has the MAGIC. She first appeared on Glee in the early episode of season 2 and covered Beyonce’s Listen with such power and emotions. I have to link you to it.

And then I kinda forgot about her for a while until I recently dug out this video, which absolutely blew me away and the only response I could give was WOW WOW and WOW!!!! So does anyone else that has heard her sing. 

Even David Foster was like OMG, this girl is incredible when Charice absolutely aced those high pitches. I am so enchanted by her voice and even more inspired by this only 19-year-old girl who has come a long way from a small town in Philippines, barely escaped from her violent father and was raised alone by her mother. The most thing I love about her is that she possesses such fine qualities as modesty and honesty in real life but when she sings, she has the ability to make the whole world listen to her. She started singing and attending singing contests when she was only four after being taught some basic singing techniques by her mom. The girl’s absolutely got a gift and she knows how to take care of it too. Thanks to YouTube, she made it to a wider audience and was invited to Ellen DeGeneres’ Show in 2007 when she was only 15. After her first successful debut in the States, she held several other performances all over the nation until she hit Oprah’s “World’s Smartest Kids”.  (This might not be the one but is also good enough)

I guess you could compare her to Justin Bieber who also began his wonders from YouTube but as far as I remember, there was never an Asian like Charice who has achieved such high prestige in the western world. And she absolutely deserves all of it. After her impeccable performances on Oprah, who later connected her with David Foster, she officially started her career in the States, the empire of entertainment. The most inspiring part of this story is that even Charice is super gifted, she wouldn’t have made this far if she ever stopped making effort. Her high dedication to singing wins her all respect and credits, and more precisely, the opportunities and help from other people. I believe if you truly want to do something, the whole world is ready to help you. As the saying goes, “Luck favors those who work hard.” Go Charice!!! 

On Prejudice

This is going to be short and prickly but it is true.

I think most prejudice derives from misunderstanding, or refusal to understand, which is even worse.

Today on the tram, I was as usual staring into the blank and a tattered bag caught my attention. I was trying to figure out the letters on the bag but it was so worn out that it became quite illegible. My look chased down to the woman in a hijab and made her feel slightly uneasy, as I could feel that she gripped her bag closer to herself. The information provided was enough to expose her identity as one of the refugees living in the commission house.Her response made me realise my impudence and I was ashamed of my inappropriate actions. HOWEVER, a woman on her left was totally sizing her up, giving her a head-to-toe check, without even avoiding the awkward eye contact. As the muslin woman ( I assume women wearing hijab are muslims???)  got up and ready to get off, the other woman kept staring at her floor-length hijab and couldn’t hide her disgusted look on her face. (SHOCKING!!!) SHAME ON YOU WOMAN!! Even though she looks different from you, it doesn’t mean that she does not deserve your respect. At the end of the day, only people like you who refuse to go out and know about others will lose so much more. I hope that people can just give themselves a chance to get out of their comfort zone and reach for something that might seem so odd to them. It surely takes courage to overcome the fear of the unknown but it all pays off in the end. A step towards tolerance is a step away from prejudice.

I was just thinking of this book whilst I was blogging and this is surely one of the heart-wrenching books I’ve read.

The Kite Runner Cover

The Kite Runner, one of my favourite book set in exotic Afghanistan. A sad yet powerful read on humanity. Recommend to those who haven’t had the chance to take a look and it won’t fail you.