Do all kids love TV?

Kids. They laugh, they run around, they scream, they play. They are anything but quiet, except they are sitting in front of a TV. Sounds familiar?

The TV is for most kids the best friend somehow. They love to spend their time only looking at the screen. Mostly because many parents just need a little break, so they switch on the TV, let it 'take care' of their kids. For many people it's actually the first thing to do in the morning, before they prepare breakfast. Living without it? No way.

So I was thinking how important is TV in our everyday life? How much does it affect and influence us? How would our life be like without TV? And is it possible to have some happy days when we don't have the chance to watch anything on the screen?

I already told you about Aly, my friend's 4-year old daughter. In many ways she lets me think twice about stuff and gives me another point of view. So I decided to talk to my fave little girl. Aly always smiles when she sees me. Last time I visited her she took my hand and guided me into her room. "Come, I wanna show you something", Aly said. Her Mom bought her a puppet theater and she handed me two of her puppets. "You play the prince and his speaking horse and I am the beautiful princess." "So only I have to play a role?", I asked and Aly grinned.

The moments mother and daughter spend together are priceless.
pic by Rolands Lakis

We played a while and then she told me she loves the theater. "It's always different, not like on TV." Many people look at a screen, they all see exactly the same. But when you watch a play, every performance is different. I haven't actually thought about it that way before, so I thank Aly for that. She doesn't really like watching TV much, maybe because her Mom doesn't like it either.

do you prefer to see a play or a TV show?
pic by Diego Torres Silvestre

They prefer to do their own shows - these were the words Aly used. Being only one of 1,000 people isn't that difficult - she clearly doesn't know how many people actually watch a TV show, but that's nothing that matters to get her point - being one of two is something really special. "Only me and my Mom know what we do and I love that", she said.

"People only think in large numbers. But why? Why should that be better?" I couldn't give her a real answer. Why is it better being one of a million than one of two? Sounds more rare, special? But is it really special to know something that everybody knows? When you watch TV it's always the same, that's not close to real life. You can watch the same show twice and nothing changes. But when you watch the same play several times, it's always a bit different.

You are full of wonder

You are special, you are unique, you matter. I never understood people complaining about their lives only because they are no superstars like Neil Patrick Harris who hosts the 65th Primetime Emmys today. Sure I'm gonna watch that show. It's my second fave award show after the Tonys and so I look forward to it every year. But as much as I like it, I can't imagine to go on such a stage and receive an award one day, though it must be an overwhelming feeling to be honored by people who know good quality and appreciate your work. But all these actors, writers and creative minds who work in the TV business do this primarily to entertain people, not to get an award one day.

If your heart turns blue, I want you to remember This song is for you, and you are full of wonder 

-Emelie Sandé, Wonder 

I enjoy to take care of my best friend's 2-year old daughter Ella. I love it when I play with her, tell her stories and she smiles. That's my award. That's what makes me happy and when I know I'm doing the right thing. At the Emmys people are nominated and already that is an honor of which most people can only dream. But the viewers mostly are interested in the winners. For me the Emmys is a celebration where all these talented and creative minds come together and have a great evening. These are the people who bring us joy and fun every week. For some guys these people are like family because they come into their homes, weekly or even daily, and become part of their lives.

Without them, without the TV and all these good shows, our lives would be less... (you can fill the gab with your own words, but something would be missing, wouldn't it?)
These guys fill the gap. They share their visions, their passions with us and inspire us in so many ways. You might not be one of these TV people but you can share your passion too. Don't act, don't try to pretend being someone else. Show people who you are and that's when you start to create wonder. You are full of wonder. You can't act like having a passion only because you wanna be rich and famous. Not even an actor can have success for a long time when he only does it because of the money.

You wanna be successful? Be yourself and see all the wonder that are inside of you. The real award is not a trophy, that's only a symbol, a visualization. The real award is the smile in someone's face, touching only one person can change her life and that makes it worth doing whatever you do.

For me it's not just a saying that all nominees are winner. We all tend to compare ourselves to those who might have a better life, so that we get motivated and maybe one day we will be on the same level with them. It's good to win, it's good to be the best, but that's not everything. Everyone in this world is part of it, everyone matters.

The one who inspired me to write this post is British singer Emelie Sandé. Every time I listen to her song "Wonder" I feel so much better. When you be yourself you are able to touch people and that is the award that really matters. A trophy can be bought, a smile not.

The power of fantasy

“Can you imagine losing your fantasy?” That’s what I asked Aly lately, and she wildly shook her head.  “Not in a million years”, she said. Aly is the daughter of one of my friends. She is 4 years old and since I know her I learned a lot. She became one of my biggest inspirations in my life, and my writing. Fantasy is the base, or the core of writing and this little girl has an infinite amount of ideas and stories in her head. She uses her imagination to explore the world. There’s so much she doesn’t know but somehow she does, only without knowing.

Can a single drop be like a gate into another world?
pic by Andrea

I remember one day when Jim, a good friend of mine, and I were picking up Aly for eating some ice cream. Soon she started talking excitedly about the ice princess with her strawberry dress and her vanilla skin, and her chocolate hair. “It’s maybe too sad to eat her,” Aly said. “She is just so beautiful, but of course she is, she is a princess. Aren’t all princesses beautiful?” “Sure they are,” I replied. “But the sun doesn’t like her. I don’t like that. Why can’t it let the princess live longer?” “Well, ice melts when it’s too warm”, Jim tried to explain. “But it’s not fair for the ice princess. She has such a short life. So I will enjoy her beauty as long as I can.”

When she saw her princess, Aly’s eyes started sparkling. She was looking at the ice cream, like she never saw something like this before. “Life is short. Most people would gulp you down in a rush. Not me. I’m not in a hurry. I know that I will never see you again. You are special and beautiful.” Jim and I looked at each other, then at our ice creams on the table. At this moment I wish I could see the princess, but all I saw was ice cream. That made me a little upset and Aly noticed that. I didn’t want to tell her that somehow all grown-ups lose more and more of their imagination and see it all differently. So I told her about my other big wish.

“I want to have a dog, most of all a Maltese. They are just the cutest”, I gushed. It’s all true, but as long as I go to college I simply can’t have one. Aly looked at me with her blue eyes and smiled. “The longer you wait, the happier you will be when your wish comes true.” The next day I visited her Mom. We sat in the kitchen and talked. Then Aly came in, holding a shoe box in her hand. She gave it to me with a big smile on her face. “Here. That’s what you wished for.” I took the box; it felt empty, so I didn’t open it but asked Aly what that was. “In it is your Maltese, white, fluffy and so sweet.” 

picture by Fireangel33