I had the pleasure of viewing a documentary on Maya Lin, the architectural artist who designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. today in my Vietnam Legacy class. The class is from 9:50 a.m. to 12:50 p.m., and it's sometimes hard to get into the material when I'm still drowsy, but this documentary gripped me and made me truly admire this woman. At the age of 21, she designed that incredible monument to the Vietnam Veterans... To me, the concept behind the design falls nothing short of pure genius. I heard and watched her speak when her design was being protested, and she spoke with such intelligence and maturity.... It made me want to cry, and at the same time, it made me look at myself and compare what she accomplished at that age to my accomplishments.
Some people will make comparisons with basketball players, who from high school graduation, go into the NBA and receive 60 million dollar contracts. When that was brought up at the table today, someone said, "Don't talk about that, it makes me want to kill myself." However, I don't think comparing yourself to a 17 year old who can shoot hoops is on the same scale as Maya Lin. She created something so touching and respectful, when the people she was doing it for were criticizing her for it, and stood strong and steadfast by her vision with remarkable grace.
We should all look at these things with some more perspective and stop feeling so bad when we look at the 17 year old who'll be offered that 60 million dollar contract. Who knows what he'll get himself into....
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