I was on browsing on Youtube a few days ago and a video popped up in the 'Recommended For You' section: "My philosophy for a happy life." I had seen it here before a couple of times but having nothing better to do (except maybe study for my finals that start next week) I clicked on it. And it was incredible.
So this video is a TED talk given by a 17 year old boy named Sam who suffers from progeria, which is basically a syndrome caused due to a genetic aberration, in which the ageing process in your body is super-accelerated. Most people with progeria die around 14 years of age.
What struck me particularly was how Sam was speaking about things. He starts off by telling us about how he had always wanted to play the snare drums in his high school's matching band. But the whole apparatus weighs around 50 pounds, while he weighs a little over 40. But he didn't give up. He got in touch with an engineer who custom built a snare drum just for him which weighed just 6 pounds.
And what was so interesting about it was how little of progeria came up in the entire video. He talked about how he loved to hang out with his friends in the marching band and how he loved to spend time with his family. Sam who has so little to thank for when compared with a regular person his age is probably the happiest and most satisfied person I've seen in my life. Because he chose the things that define his life. And although he swears he acknowledges that living with progeria is an important part of his life, there are so many other things that are so much more important. And he's kinda just fine with it.
Somewhere in the video he mentioned that he wants to be an engineer when he grows up because he loves playing with legos. And that is a perfectly normal aspiration, which is what makes it so extraordinary. He knows he isn't going to live long but if you'd only be hearing him speak and not actually watching, you'd never be able to tell.
Sam passed away in 2014 when he was 18. He mentioned in his talk about the time he was interviewed on NPR and John Hamilton asked him the question 'What is the most important thing that people should know about you?' And his answer was simply that he has a very happy life.
Here is the video in case you're interested. You should also check out the HBO documentary 'Life According to Sam' that he was featured in.
So this video is a TED talk given by a 17 year old boy named Sam who suffers from progeria, which is basically a syndrome caused due to a genetic aberration, in which the ageing process in your body is super-accelerated. Most people with progeria die around 14 years of age.
What struck me particularly was how Sam was speaking about things. He starts off by telling us about how he had always wanted to play the snare drums in his high school's matching band. But the whole apparatus weighs around 50 pounds, while he weighs a little over 40. But he didn't give up. He got in touch with an engineer who custom built a snare drum just for him which weighed just 6 pounds.
And what was so interesting about it was how little of progeria came up in the entire video. He talked about how he loved to hang out with his friends in the marching band and how he loved to spend time with his family. Sam who has so little to thank for when compared with a regular person his age is probably the happiest and most satisfied person I've seen in my life. Because he chose the things that define his life. And although he swears he acknowledges that living with progeria is an important part of his life, there are so many other things that are so much more important. And he's kinda just fine with it.
Somewhere in the video he mentioned that he wants to be an engineer when he grows up because he loves playing with legos. And that is a perfectly normal aspiration, which is what makes it so extraordinary. He knows he isn't going to live long but if you'd only be hearing him speak and not actually watching, you'd never be able to tell.
Sam passed away in 2014 when he was 18. He mentioned in his talk about the time he was interviewed on NPR and John Hamilton asked him the question 'What is the most important thing that people should know about you?' And his answer was simply that he has a very happy life.
Here is the video in case you're interested. You should also check out the HBO documentary 'Life According to Sam' that he was featured in.
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