Ling Young, without a doubt, is one of the most inspirational, driven human beings. After all that she endured. Even after the attack, and the devastating life threatening burns she received from it, she was able proceed in her life and look past the burden that was placed on her. She realized that even though she was severely burned and couldn't do half the things she was able to before, that there was a reason to live, and keep living life to the fullest. She conveyed that 9/11 may have slowed her down, but that wasn't going to stop her by any means. I thought that her most profound statement was when she was describing her experience at the burn conference. "The thing that made me turnaround was the burn conference. That turned my attitude very differently. When you look at some of the patients burned you consider yourself to be very lucky." She looked passed her own problems, and knew that others had it much worse. Her compassion of others and understanding of how to overcome whatever life throws at you was absolutely incredible.
The time-span that this documentary covers completely contributes to the overall emotional strength that it delivers. It shows how people move on, and eventually understand that you can't live in the past. I especially noticed this with Tanya Villanueva, Bryan Lyons, and Nick Chirls who all lost family members on the day of the attack. They all found it extremely difficult, going through a severe amount of depression from the loss they experienced, but over the eight years they began to focus on the present and realize that there was still people out there who deeply cared for them. The structure of this film definitely helped express how time heals.
At one point during the documentary Ling Young spoke of life and how it needs to be enjoyed as long as possible. She stated that if you have a chance at freedom, enjoy it. Her thoughts and beliefs are so important. They explain how even after tragedy, people need to rise and overcome what has been dealt to them in life. To have freedom is to have endless possibilities, and if you are given that chance, enjoy it to the fullest because it may not always be there.
"The thing that made me turnaround was the burn conference. That turned my attitude very differently. When you look at some of the patients burned you consider yourself to be very lucky." I agree with you, this quote stood out to me the most from her because it makes me think of how lucky I am in my situation and that we should live life to the fullest when some people can't, that we shouldn't take our life for granted and cherish it.
ReplyDeleteI think Ling was a very powerful person in this film. She was badly burned and still never looked down on life. She was always in a cheerful mood and although bummed about some surgeries always laughed it off which showed real character.
ReplyDeleteI found Ling Young to be very inspiring as well. Even during the first year, right after she was burned, she talked about how she would continue to plan her vacations with her daughter. It didn't slow her down.
ReplyDeleteI think Ling Young was very inspiring. She was so optimistic even though she went through a hard tragedy. She kept her life going and worked through the surgeries. i like what you took from the stories to enjoy and live life to the fullest. you never know when it can be taken from you.
ReplyDeleteLing young had a very inspiring story, and i like how she finally took time to stop and realize she just needs to move on and enjoy what she has left remaining in her life, and with that, she found happiness.
ReplyDeleteI thought that Ling was an amazing person. Her optimism on the whole event was truly inspiring. I could not imagine being so optimistic about recovery after all the burns she had. I think Ling's optimism is what got her through her 40+ surgeries in 8 years. It was great that even though she was burned she still wanted her life to be normal and still planned vacations.
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