An Inspiration of Mine: Zach Sobiech

If you guys haven't heard of Zach Sobiech before then I would strongly suggest that you watch the following two videos because I can almost fully guarantee that you'll cry.
Go on, please, even if you're not one for 'inspirational' videos, it'll still be something to watch :)

If you don't have the time to watch the videos, here's a written version of parts of the video I loved and what I learned from it :) Zach is a 17-year-old boy who was diagnosed with a rare type of bone cancer during his late teens. He was told that he'd either have life saving surgery that would take out his left leg and part of half of his pelvis which, would mean he'd not be able to sit up, or he would die within 6 months to a year. He chose to live his last few months to the best of his ability and these videos just explore how much he touched the lives of everyone around him.

A friend of his at school said 'He's just a person that you can trust will be smiling.' Some of his other friends said that he helped them put their problems and complaints into perspective, that a bad day wasn't really as bad as they thought :) This is just one part of how he touched other people's lives. For me this little snippet is so good because it's not great spending more time feeling down because of your day rather than enjoying it and having someone who can remind you of that is just amazing and I wish I could do that for my friends :)

He was a best friend to his younger sister and he was just a person that would make you feel better just by being in his presence.

He was just a joy to his parents and made them proud with all that he did and he was really kind and compassionate. He inspired his class mates and made them feel good about themselves. He would never put other people down and in the first video his Mum talks about how they went to watch a basketball game together. She made a comment about how one of the players was running funny and he replied with a list of things that the same player had done well. That in itself is really inspirational, to not be satisfied with putting someone down but making sure that they are praised where it's due. His mum said 'He's always been very empathetic and compassionate.' It really shows that we shouldn't be happy at the expense of someone else's dignity, that we should celebrate them and through celebrating each other, be happy :)

He was described by his eldest sister as 'happy, always smiling.' and I think we all need to spread the joy, we hear it all the time but there's so much we can do and all we've got to do is take that step :)

His eldest sister also said: 'Zach is a testament to the fact that everything's okay when you believe in something greater.' I don't know whether it's easier or harder to be in Zach's situation and to have or not have faith in something greater though with me personally I would definitely say something greater because it would help you realise that everyone goes through something different and because Zach was such an amazing person, he had a harder test. God wanted to be reunited with him :)

His youngest sister said: 'Well, I've got to live life, like well as if Zach's going to die tomorrow.' The odd thing is, it's the same for most of us because we don't know when we're going to die and I guess for them it was easier to have that reminder in front of them but if we live with that mentality, maybe we can experience the same richness that the Sobiechs experienced knowing that time was precious. It made beauty so much more beautiful and moments just that much more precious.

His brother said: 'It's imperative that we stick together as a family because we've got to make it through, as a family.' It just shows how much support is important, whether you be going through something as life changing as the Sobiechs or just the normal flow of life, you've got to stick it out for your family because you can't choose your family :)

His girlfriend said: 'He's shown me that it's not all about the grades you get or how cool you are in high school, it's about doing what makes you happy and no matter when you're going to go but to live your life to the fullest, every day of your life.'

I also loved these videos because it proves what you can do for another person - Zach got into cars and found out that the Nissan GTR was the car that was the least expensive with the highest performance and his family organised for him to be able to drive it for a week. When he found out he described the sensation as being 'like you've been dumped in cold water and you can't breathe, but in a really good way.' I think it just proves to us that it's never late or the wrong time to do something for someone else.

It just feels like, watching those videos, that Zach just left an enormous impression on everyone that had the pleasure to meet him and being able to hit people, not just with is words and actions but with his music meant that he understood that it would be hard for those people who were close to him once he was gone. He created songs to help his family with closure. He didn't stop dreaming big because he was dying and that was awesome - he didn't give up and I think a lot of us who aren't limited with time and capability would dream a lot smaller than Zach.

Here are some of the Zach quotes from the first video that I just love :)

'It's kinda like you're sitting in the dark. You can either choose to be freaking out in the dark and thinking okay what's out there or you can just relax and fall asleep and just be happy and content with everything.'

'I want everyone to know that you don't have to find out you're dying, to start living.'

'What makes you happy, is seeing someone smile and knowing that you put it there. That's what's so awesome about living in this world.'

'You can either sit in your basement and wait, or you can get out there and do some crazy stuff.'

'Mum and Dad, I wish I could have kids and raise them like you raised me because you've done a hell of a job.'

'It's really simple actually, it's just try and make people happy. Maybe you have to learn it with time, or maybe you have to learn it the hard way, but as long as you learn it, you're going to make the world a better place.'

'I want to be remembered as the kid who went down fighting and didn't really lose.'

Thank you so much for reading. I'm sorry but not sorry that this is such a long post but I really think Zach deserves as much for being such a ginormous inspiration. I've not even really scratched the surface with the amount we can take from Zach but I hope it inspired you! The first video was released on the 3rd of May in 2013 which was Zach's 18th Birthday. He died on the 20th of the same month and if there's one grave I would love to visit in my life, that'd be one.

Please leave your thoughts in the comments and I will speak to you soon!