i watched this clip today – it was titled ‘Goth Andrew De Leon something something something’ and was obviously going to be one of those singing talent shows [the one without Simon Cowell] and clearly the big twist was going to be this goth suddenly singing like the offspring of Susan Boyle and Michael Jackson or something to that effect…

so i watched it and it deeply moved me [as they always do – pretend to be a rock but if you can watch this and not at least have the smallest hints of inner cry, you should get yourself checked out]

so watch the clip and be moved… but for me it was more about the person who thought they were nothing and turned out to be someone [which contains its own needing-to-be-looked-at issues of calling someone a someone just because they possess an amazing talent] receiving the affirmation they were looking for in life and before even going on stage declaring the hope that life was going to be completely different from now.

take a moment before watching though, and many moments afterwards, to think of the role of this guy’s family and friends and classmates and the responsibility and opportunities we have every day to give affirmation to and love those around us, so that they know it… and especially the ones who may not hear it from many people all that often [don’t waste your time tweeting Brad Pitt that you think he’s hot – i imagine he ‘gets’ that!]

which reminded me of a post i wrote for my old ‘Mash and Peace’ blog titled ‘Blessed are the Geeks’ that was about the labelling we tend to do so easily and the potential destructiveness of it…

so really who is your Andrew de Leon? [whether they can sing at all or not!] and what are you going to do today to let them know you care about them a lot?

[For a similiar themed article titled ‘Her life as a plus size model’ click here]