During this talk held in Washington D. C on October 2013, Sam Berns a 17 year old who suffers from a strange disease called “ Progeria,” explains how this condition has only allowed him to live a happier life. According to the speaker this is an extremely rare disease that affects approximately 350 kids worldwide. It is characterized for giving children a premature aging aspect and the most common symptoms are: growth failure, loss of hair and body fat, heart disease and aged looking skin. Stages of creativity:
“ Being creative means more than having certain traits. It means behaving creatively, addressing the challenges we encounter with imagination and originality.” (Ruggiero, 2012) In the talk I was able to identify different stages of creativity such as: looking for new challenges, expressing and talking about the problem, investigating it, and constructing a range of ideas. Sam Berns has not had an easy life but he has never allowed any obstacle to stop him from achieving his goals and dreams.
The speaker was informed about his problem and the ways it affects his health and lifestyle, regardless of his condition he is always looking for new challenges to overcome because according to him he is capable of doing everything he wants if he focuses on the things he can do on instead of focusing on the things he can’t do. For example he talked about his passion for music and his desire to be part of the musical band at school; which at some point for everybody seemed to be impossible since the instrument was heavier than his entire body but it was never impossible for him. He worked with an engineer for several weeks, and finally they were able to create an instrument that only weighted 6 pounds; which allowed him to be part of the band and march in every single event. Concepts of imagination and curiosity:
Berns has clear what he wants in life and what he is capable of doing. I was able to find the concepts of imagination and curiosity during his talk. The speaker is very curious about many aspects of his life, he has the ability to create new concepts and ideas in order to achieve his goals and overcome obstacles, and uses his imagination to make those thoughts possible, create new helpful ways to make his life easier and do not allow his condition to be an impediment to succeed in life and make his dreams come true. Personal experience and benefits in society:
To be honest, I was completely amazed with Sam Berns, due to the fact that regardless of his condition he has never doubt himself and he believes that the most important thing about him is that he has a very happy life because he is grateful for what he has, and the word impossible does not exist in his vocabulary. He is a motivation not just for me but for the entire society as a whole, in our daily lives we all experience hard situations and face obstacles that we believe are impossible to overcome, but the truth is that we all are capable of achieving everything we want if we focus on the positive things on instead of the negative. Conclusion
Using creativity, imagination and curiosity could lead us to make important changes in our lives just by having an idea and creating new ways to get what we want and be where we want to be.
Resources
Berns, Samuel. My philosophy for a happy life. (2013). Retrieved from:
Ruggiero, V. R. (2012). The art of thinking: A guide to critical and creative thought (10th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson Longman
