Audrey finding inspiration in the hope and innovation she encounters

I may have written this before but it never seizes to amaze me how innovative a lot of people here are. I actually think I wrote about this in my first blog post ever. Yet every time I notice a new way a person used such a simple object to create something so brilliant blows my mind more and more. What reminded me of the brilliance of these people was when our group was at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg, SouthAfrica. While we were touring the jail cells called Block 4 we came across one of the cells remade to replicate the look of the cell itself when there were prisoners occupying it. The first thing I noticed was a couch made out of blankets confused on why this would be in a cell, I read the plaque above it. I got the understanding that these prisoners were given one blanket when he was imprisoned, with that blanket the man was suppose to keep himself warm through the cold winters and sleep comfortably on a concrete floor. These men chose to use these blankets in so many different ways and this is why there was a couch made out of blankets. On Sundays they would make the couches to make the cells become as ‘homey’ as a room with bare, concrete, cold walls and floor can feel.

I am not just amazed at how inventive they become but also how they treat their hardships. These men were treated like animals in those prisons, but instead of dwelling in their situation and misfortune these men chose to cherish the moments they did have to make the circumstances a bit better or as good as it can get. This is not just done in the prison; I see it every day with my students, at marches, at my activist project, driving through townships.

I see a stick, my students see so much more. I see an empty jar; others see a vase, cup, and storage. I see a bad situation, others see the positive and lesson from the situation. I see something that is impossible to be changed; the people at marches see the hope within the possibility in change.

I wish I could tell all of these people how much I admire them, for being strong, positive and hopeful when I fear I would allow all the hardships they experience every day to conquer my life and take all of my fight out of me. But instead I will keep them in the back of my mind at all times to remind myself to approach every situation and issue with a positive and strong outlook.