What_Matters_Most_Is_Not_the_Change_That_Occurs_but_How_a_Person_Deals_with_That_Change

Change is inevitable; however we can decide how we accept change, whether it is a positive or negative reaction. Without accepting the fact that everything changes, we cannot find perfect composure. In the Black Balloon this concept of accepting change is shown by Thomas coming to terms with his brother Charlie’s medical condition. Another story of change being dealt with is by the story of Amy who is a family friend of my peer Caitlin Higgins; Amy faced the transition of being depressed to having a normal happy life. Chris Gardner in the pursuit of happyness created the change in his life from being filthy poor to very well of. There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more risky to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of change. The way we deal with change is what shapes the path our life takes. The film The Black Balloon illustrates the life of Thomas who tries to live out a normal adolescent life, one with friends, a girlfriend and common teenage interests but is faced with the challenge of his brother’s autistic disability. Even though Thomas has grown up trying to deal with this challenge, he always found it hard to come to terms with the extent of his brother’s condition. During the course of the film the audience is shown the struggles that Thomas goes through due to his brother Charlie. We are shown at the beginning of the film that Thomas is feels humiliated and disapproves of his brother Charlie. This concept is portrayed to us in the scene where Charlie runs away from his home and enters Jacqui’s house (the girl Thomas has a crush on) he is very humiliated in this situation because Jacqui is in the shower, and she has no prior knowledge of Charlie’s condition. In an attempt to avoid humiliation Thomas locks Charlie in his room in order to have a normal conversation with Jacqui. Another point in the film were Thomas is embarrassed is when he is forced to get on Charlie’s school bus that is full of disabled students, Thomas is opposed to the thought and doesn’t want be seen in public. The scene in the tunnel whilst it’s raining indicates that Thomas wishes Charlie was normal as he explains to Jacqui that he wants to be able to experience what Charlie feels and how he thinks. The breaking point for Thomas is at his birthday celebration when Charlie exposes himself inappropriately. This incident triggered something in Thomas, it made him see Charlie differently he appreciated his brother much more, this was displayed to us when Thomas locks himself in the bathroom and cries because of the remorse he feels for what his done, another example is when Thomas goes outside and starts tapping on the ground with Charlie, this shows that Thomas is willing to experience what his brother feels. The scene when Thomas participates in his brother’s play with him shows that he is no longer humiliated to be seen in public with him. Finally the bathroom scene where Thomas reflects on the past years with his brother Charlie he reveals “I hated being your brother every night I would close my eyes and wish that when I woke up you would be normal, but you weren’t.” Thomas deals with change both positively and negatively, in the end he comes to term with what will never change and that is his brother being normal. Thomas’ perspective on his brother’s life changes completely he is no longer ashamed, embarrassed or disapproving of the situation. The story of Amy Graham consists of three stages of change going from happiness, to a depression phase to joy and happiness again. It starts off with Amy living a talented and happy life. Music became a lifestyle for Amy. However things went downhill for Amy as she was diagnosed with severe depression, what once made Amy happy became a distant memory. She lost all interest in music and became a suicidal, anxious person. This was the first transition in Amy’s life going from happy to depressed, Amy dealt with this change by going on to chat rooms were ways to committee suicide were discussed, Amy wanted to end her life so that she wouldn’t have to face the challenges in her life. The people around her including family and friends knew that help was needed for Amy. Beyond Blue was Amy’s helpline, though her journey was hard she pulled through and proved to herself and others that the old, happy Amy was back. Amy dealt with the changes in her life in two ways; the decline of her life Amy started turning her back on life and giving up on what she was once passionate about. The incline of Amy’s life is the rehabilitation stage when she agreed to get help to get her life back; she was determined to change the person she had become. Amy experienced big changes in her life but at the end allowed herself to turn her life around. From Rags to Riches, Chris Gardner in the Pursuit of Happyness did just that. Chris Gardner left the navy to pursue a promising sales representative position in the medical industry, however Chris was faced with some financial issues and things went downhill for him. Driven by the promise he made to himself as a fatherless child to never abandon his own children. Chris Gardner strived to bring Happyness to his family. This drive proved critical to Chris’ life, this very drive is what changed Chris’ life forever. Chris dealt with the change by never giving up he pushed himself to achieve his goals landing him a job as a powerful player in Wall Street as a financial district. Change happens in everyone’s life, it is unstoppable. The way we react and handle change is what’s important. We sometimes struggle with change, however we must embrace it in order to move on with our lives.