Nelson Mandela; A Hero, An Inspiration.

I remember February 2000, I was six year old, sitting in the classroom staring at a tall man from South Africa, he had come in to talk to us about Nelson Mandela, it had been ten year since he's release form prison.

I listened as he spoke, inspired, hanging on to every word, I was hooked and finally I had found something I had been searching for: A Hero.

From that day every library session we had, while my friends hunted down E.B. White and A.A. Mill, I searched for books about Mandela. The more I read, the more I liked him, his achievements were inspiring. First black president of South Africa was something special, I had only ever heard of white presidents until then.



But what struck me the most was his imprisonment, how can someone be put in jail for encouraging his own people to fight for their rights, it sounded barbaric to me at six years old. I was obsessed with Robben Island, Mandela remained there for 20 years, locked in a cell of 2.4 x 2.1 meters with nothing but a straw mat to sleep on; by day he broke rocks into gravel and at night he worked on his LLB degree.

After Robben Island he was moved to Pollsmoor Prison, which allowed him to have communication, through letters, with the outside world and also permitted him to read voraciously. It was here he would be appointed Patron of the Multi-Racial United Democracy Front. There he remained until his 70th Birthday in 1988.

Recovering from Tuberculosis he was moved to Victor Verster prison, housed in comfortable conditions which allowed him to complete his LLB degree.

He was released on February 11th 1990, standing with his wife at his side he gave his first public speech declaring his commitment to peace and reconciliation with the white minority. The speech worked, in 1994 he became president of South Africa, a big step forward for the country and in 1996 he was appointed Chairman of the Southern African Development  Community and installed negotiations to put an end to the first Congo war. In 1997 he stepped down as ANS president and gave his final farewell speech on the 29th of March 1999 after which he retired.

But that wasn't the last of Mandela, still hugely important to his country he made several public appearances. In 2001 he was treated for prostate cancer and in 2008 he celebrated his 90th birthday along side his third wife, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

I had a heavy heart after his death, I lost a hero, an inspiration and South Africa lost their father, their voice.

He was a fighter, he had been all his life, he spread a message of never giving up and fighting for what you believe. He was a voice for people who didn't have one. He taught us that education was important to change the world, that we must use our time wisely and it's never too late to do things right. He fought for the freedom of his people which left him fighting for his own freedom, but South Africa stood by him, he was the voice they needed.

RIP Nelson Mandela.
18th July 1918 - 5th of December 2013
Spread your wings, fly high and free. Lost but never forgotten, a hero that will truly be missed.


"Let freedom reign. The sun never set on so glorious a human achievement."- Nelson Mandela

Susie Wolff, Next Female Formula One Driver?

As a female Formula One fan I am sick of hearing comments, usually from men,  about female racing drivers, that they are not strong enough, that they shouldn’t be allowed to race, that female drivers cause too many accidents on track, but the comment that annoys me the most has to be: “No woman will ever drive in modern F1” WHAT??? WHY NOT?? We can driver just as well as the men!

Susie Wolff is a Scottish racing driver. She has progressed through the ranks of motorsport, starting off in karting, then moving up to Formula Renault and Formula Three before moving to the DTM to compete for Mercedes-Benz. In 2012, she was signed by the Williams Formula One team to work as a development driver.

1996 she was named British Woman Kart Racing Driver of the year. In 1997, she competed in a number of different karting categories and came out on top in a number of them.

In 2001 Wolff made the step up from kart racing to single-seater racing. Her first experience was in the 2001 Formula Renault Winter Series, in which she raced for the Motaworld Racing team. In 2004 she competed in her third season in the Formula Renault UK Championship, this time racing for the Comtec Racing team and she finished 5th overall in the championship with 3 podium finishes during the year.

For 2005, Wolff made the step up to the British Formula Three Championship to race for the Alan Docking Racing team in the Championship Class, but her season was disrupted by an ankle injury sustained during the winter. She also made a one-off appearance in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Brands Hatch in June.

In 2006 Wolff made the big step up to compete in the DTM, the German Touring Car series, one of the biggest Touring Car championships in the world. In her debut season she achieved a best finish of 9th overall in the final round of the season at the Hockenheimring. She remained in DTM until 2012.

After leaving DTM Susie became a development driver for the Williams Formula One team. And last summer Wolff got to drive in the Young Drivers test. She later stated:  “A lot of people were waiting for me to fail when I did the Young Driver Test at Silverstone last summer. They suspected I wouldn’t be strong enough to drive more than 10 laps or that I would be three seconds off the pace of my team-mate.” But Susie tested for 89 laps and was only nine-tenths of a second slower than team mate Pastor Maldonado, who had won the Barcelona Gran Prix.

So why can’t Susie Wolff drive in Formula One in the future? She’s already proven that she’s a great driver; she’s fast, determined and a real racer.  Has the world really gone back to the medieval frame of mind that women should be in the kitchen?

 These female racers are an inspiration for young girl who dream of racing.  Yes, females will always get stick for racing, but people need to realise that that won’t make them give up, they will continue following their dream just like any other human being! And why shouldn’t they?

People are very quick to judge drivers, especially female drivers; “Oh, she hasn’t achieved a podium finish yet” No maybe she hasn’t but you all seem to forget to mention that she has beat however many cars it is that particular race, all driven by males, to the finish line, so no she wasn’t on the podium but she didn’t finish last.

In the near future a woman will be back in Formula One, achieving that dream shared by thousands of little girls. And my money is on Susie Wolff. You show them girl!

 

A tribute to María De Villota

María de Villota Comba (13 January 1980 – 11 October 2013) was a Spanish racing driver. She was the daughter of former Formula One driver Emilio de Villota, and sister of Emilio de Villota, Jr.

De Villota was born in Madrid. She competed in numerous racing series, including the World Touring Car Championship and ADAC Procar Series. In 2005 she also competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona endurance race.

On 18 August 2011, the Lotus Renault GP team confirmed reports that de Villota had made her Formula One test debut in a Renault R29 at the Paul Ricard Circuit, and that her management was in talks to secure her a test driver seat in the future.
On 7 March 2012, it was announced that María de Villota had joined Marussia F1 Team as a test driver, with the opportunity to sample Formula One machinery later in the year.

At approximately 09:30 on 3 July 2012, de Villota was involved in a testing accident at Duxford Aerodrome whilst carrying out straight-line testing for Marussia; her first time in the car. Her car collided with a stationary truck at the end of a test run, it took paramedics over an hour to remove her from the wrecked car. The motoring world along with millions of fans held their breath waiting to hear news about María's well being. The next day we were all informed that María was stable but had lost her right eye, but she still remained upbeat, even joking with doctors about the lose of her eye; "Tell me doctor, do you need both your hand to preform an operation? Well I need both my eyes to race, so you better fix it"
After 17 days in hospital she returned to her home in Spain to help recover from her neurological damage. Over the next few months the millions of fans cheered her on, sent her messages of support and motivation. Then last October she made her first public appearance since the accident and left us all gobsmacked. She looked beautiful, she had this new vision of life, an true inspiration.

At the beginning of this Formula One season María teamed up with Spanish Aterna3 and before every race gave us a lesson on car safety not only F1 but road cars, her mission was to save as many lives as possible.

Today, the 11th of October, we were all shocked by the tragic news that Villota's body had been found in her hotel room.
The whole racing community, drivers and fans, come together to send prayer and condolences to her family.

R.I.P María de Villota, A true smile, a true racer, a true inspiration and a true zest for life. Gone but never forgotten. A little piece of blue sky by day and the brightest star at night.

One extra Chromosome, No difference!

Down syndrome is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is typically associated with physical growth delays, a particular set of facial characteristics and a mild degree of intellectual disability.

Down syndrome is named after John Langdon Down, the British physician who described the syndrome in 1866. It  can be identified in a new-born by direct observation or in a fetus by prenatal screening. Sadly nearly 93% of pregnancies with this diagnosis are terminated. But why?

The first time I had any contact with Down syndrome was when I was 7 years old, in my first year of Junior School, I remember the whole year like it was yesterday.  On my first day I got sat next a boy called Aaron and he happened to have Downs,  but to be perfectly honest I didn’t know he was any different to me or the rest of my classmates. Yes he went to a main stream school and why shouldn’t he? Aaron was better at maths then the whole class, he could read and write just as well as the rest of us, to me he was just the same as everyone else. Over the next few weeks we became good friends. But no everyone saw him like I did, older boys would laugh at him and call him names and I didn’t understand why.  So just before Christmas break, when I came out of school and my mum asked if I had a good day I blurted out “Some boys were calling Aaron names” She told me that Aaron's mum was telling her about it while they were waiting for the bell to ring. I asked her “why? It makes me sad”  mum explained to me that Aaron was a little different from the other kids and when I asked her what she meant she replied “Don’t you think he looks a bit different from everyone else?” I stopped to think before replying “But we ALL look different, NONE of us look the same…”  Without another word mum hugged me, no words needed to be exchanged, she knew I understood. So from then on Aaron and I were inseparable, we were best friends, I stood up for him and he stood up for me. He taught me that we are all the same. He laughed, spoke, cried, joked and had moody days just like the rest of us.

Society’s attitude towards Down syndrome is starting to change, and it’s for the better, we are starting to see the world through their eyes. Society doesn’t put them down as much, we no longer have the “they are doomed” or  “ Poor kid, won’t do very well in life” attitude,  words that used to make my blood boil, It drove me mad, why did society insist on giving these children such negative labels? Why couldn’t they see that they are beautiful individuals, capable of doing like the rest of us, yes maybe with a bit more help, but if they are determined to do something they are capable of reaching their goal. These kids aren’t stupid, they are highly intelligent! But like I said that is starting to change, just the other day I was in the town and I saw a beautiful little girl with Downs walking around wearing a T-shirt that said: KEEP CALM, IT’S JUST AND EXTRA CHROMOSOME!” She was so proud of her T-shirt, I just wanted to hug her!

Another amazing example of how much people with Down syndrome can achieve is a gorgeous little girl named Natty, she reminded me of how much someone can achieve and how life will smile back if you smile at it. Natty is main streamed and loves to write, she is also a model, has been on TV, gossip magazines and in fashion catalogues! Its amazing how this one little girl can be such an inspiration to so many!

A special thank you to Aaron and Natty for reminding me that Beauty comes in many shape and sizes and to never give up.

Also thank you to everyone reading, and guys just remember apart form that tiny extra chromosome they are exactly the same as the rest of us.

  
 

Will To Live

Today is Suicide Awareness day and the fact is Suicide isn’t a joke

1.000.000 people commit suicide every year, 750.000 more attempt suicide.  1 in 5 teenagers has thought about suicide, about 1 in 6 teenagers have made plans for suicide, and more than 1 in 12 teenagers have attempted suicide in the last year. As many as 8 out of 10 teenagers who have committed suicide tried to ask for help in some way before actually committing suicide.

80% of these people suffer major depression; most of them show no sign of it. They walk the hallways wearing a mask they call a smile.

A person commits suicide every 40 seconds. Every 41 seconds a person is left to try and make sense of what happened.

 Take a minute to think of the person you love the most or even the person sitting next to you this very moment, really think..... Tomorrow you get the terrible news; He or She has just taken their own life. Your heart drops, smashing into a million pieces when it hits the floor; you are left with just one question: "WHY?"

 But you can't go back and ask, what's done is done. It leaves your heart with a scar knowing you could have saved them, you could have helped them. It leaves you wondering how could you have not seen how much they were hurting. This person you loved and thought you knew so well, gone. How could they hide their pain so well?

BUT I’m NOT here to talk about facts today Im here to talk about the Will To Live foundation.

A foundation set up by the Trautweins, after their 15 year old son and my first ever friend, Will committed suicide October 15^th 2010. It’s a place where young teens can go to get help, where they can explain how difficult life can be. They get to share their personal experiences of suicide with others. These young adults become more than friends, they become “Life TeamMates”, they help each other through the day, on and off the field.

The WTL have yearly 5k runs/walks to raise money for their foundation, to keep these kids away from danger. Mr Trautwein goes into sports clubs and meetings to spread the message, to raise awareness about Teen Suicide. He teaches these teens to NEVER give up, that you can’t quit. When you have a bad day there is ALWAYS someone there, even if that day you feel like there isn’t. That as Life TeamMates we all need to listen a little better and to be more open when explaining how we feel, that we don’t have to be scared, ashamed or embarrassed to say “I NEED HELP” there’s nothing wrong with admitting you’re struggling.  Their job is to help spread the WTL message to as many countries as possible!!

 

They also have a WTL Lacrosse(who finished runners up in 2012) and baseball team for kids ages 10 to 18 wearing uniforms with the WTL logo on them, proudly explaining the ‘Life TeamMates’ message and the importance of loving your team mates on and off the field. To let teens know they are not alone, there’s always someone there willing to listen and help.

The motto of the Will-To-Live Foundation: “FOR THE KIDS, THROUGH THE KIDS, BY THE KIDS,” The motto of Life TeamMates: “LOVE YA MAN!”

 

 

        MR TRAUTWEIN AND THE FOUNDATION, ENCOURAGES THESE KIDS TO REACH OUT TO EACH OTHER. HE TEACHES THEM TO RECOGNIZE THAT AS TEENAGERS, THEY HAVE ALREADY MET SOME OF THE GREATEST FRIENDS OF THEIR LIVES – THEIR LIFE TEAMMATES!  IF THEY CAN RECOGNIZE THAT FACT, THAN PERHAPS THEY’LL BE MORE READY TO REACH OUT TO THESE LIFE TEAMMATES WHEN IN NEED.  EVERYONE AGREES, IT’S ALWAYS EASIER TO TALK TO A CLOSE FRIEND – SO THE WTL FOUNDATION PROMOTES THIS CONCEPT OF TEACHING KIDS TO BE THERE FOR EACH OTHER. THE FOUNDATION ALSO WORKS HARD TO TEACH PARENTS AND ADULTS TO RECOGNIZE THAT THE TEENAGERS TODAY ARE GENERALLY LIVING IN A MUCH MORE DIFFICULT WORLD - YES MORE OPPORTUNITIES EXIST, BUT WITH THESE OPPORTUNITIES COME GREAT PRESSURES THAT THEIR PARENTS FACED AT AN OLDER AGE.  THE FOUNDATION FEELS IT'S IMPORTANT FOR KIDS TO HEAR THEIR PARENTS AGREE THAT "LIFE IS HARD" FOR KIDS TODAY - BUT TOGETHER THEY ARE STRONGER.

 

Together we CAN put a stop to Teen Suicide!!

Love Ya Man!

College: A Roller Coaster of a Lifetime.

Four years....FOUR...That's 38 months, 1090 days, 7630 hours, 4 summers, 4 Easters, 4 Christmases 16 lessons, 167 exams, 23 different teachers and 111 different classmates.... But I'm finally out of there!!!

A lot has happened in four years, there have been ups and many downs. I've lost friends, some who I will never see again without even having the chance to say goodbye, others, we have had stupid fights and now we don't talk. I've battled eating disorders, panic attacks, anxiety, depression, bullying and abuse...But guess what? I made it, I made it through the dark tunnel and am now out the other side.

And along the way I made new friends, I've laughed, I've cried: I've won, I've lost; I've been happy, I've been sad; I've been helped, I've been hurt; I've helped, I've been let down; But most of all I've lived and I've learnt valuable lessons, all of which I will carry with me until the end of my journey.

Four years, going into the same building, sitting through the same lessons, some you rather enjoy, others were bearable, then you have those you could have done without and dreaded. A bit like the teachers, you had 3 or 4 that cared and then 19 others who couldn't give a damn, who would constantly tell you they  don't care if you pass or fail cause they get paid the same. No pride in their job what so ever.

Classmates... Wow, what a bunch of misfits we were and it seemed to get worse every year!! As the weeks went on I found it harder to trust people: Everyone was at each others throats, picking on one an another, the fights and arguments were constant. There were HUGE  clashes of opinion, so I learnt to keep my mouth shout, keep my opinion to myself and only trust a handful of friends.

The teachers at my old school weren't very helpful when I asked about college; their answers was always "Don't do it, you're not clever enough and you'll just embarrass yourself". That made me more determined to not only go to college but to pass and prove to them I'm not stupid.

I went into college not having a clue what I was getting myself into. Ending up way out of my depth, fighting demons in my head, voices telling me I was never going to be good enough. I slowly got the hang of it. I taught myself how to get through those days where you could so easily give up, to refuse to lose and to keep going , it didn't matter if I wasn't the best, the prettiest, the most clever or the skinniest. I just had to keep moving forward, I just had to survive.

College is like a marathon, if you go in thinking it's a 100m sprint you won't reach the finish line. But if you pace  yourself, taking it one day at a time, one lesson at a time you'll be able to reach that finish line, you'll be exhausted but you'll get there. After four years of shire pressure and stress I've finally finished my marathon and I'm proud of what I've managed to achieve and overcome.

Now I've been set free, let out into the big wide world. I still have lots of vital lessons to learn but everyday I'm that one step closer. How do I sum up the last four years?  A ROLLER COASTER OF A LIFETIME!! One that's made me a stronger person, One with a happy ending.

Dear Ayrton...

Dear Ayrton,

I never had the chance to appreciate you racing skills as I was very young when your life was tragically taken away from you. My dad talked about you a lot while I was growing up and when I was old enough to appreciate your driving  he showed me videos of your racing and I could see why you are one of his favourite drivers of all time.

You were so competitive and cruel on the track but so kind and caring at the same time, off the track. You were the first one there if someone had crashes to try and help them and after the crashes you would go back to that spot and see how you could prevent it from happening again. You could drive in conditions that other driver just couldn't. You are the 'Rain Master'. At the same time you were a very controversial driver, always wanting to be perfect, having the fastest lap, pole and race win. Sometimes you pushed yourself too hard, Monaco 1988 jumps to mind and then the Japanese Grand prix in 1990 when you took out Prost to win the championship, these actions made some people dislike you, but you won over the hearts of millions.

There are two things that you said that will stick with me forever, both in 1993. The first one is: “If you no longer go for a gap you are no longer a racing driver”. And the second: “ If you think I´m fast wait to you see my nephew Bruno “ and I think if people give him a chance he will be!

Two things were always very close to your heart: Your faith in God and your beloved Brazil. You famously quoted 'When God is on your side everything becomes clearer' and 'Nothing will separate me from God' two quotes you truly believed in. Then we come to Brazil, your beloved Brazil, your home country and you own people, you gave them so much hope and so much to look forward to on weekends, you gave them something to live for.

Racing these days isn't the same, before it was more about driver skill, now a days it's more about which team has the best mechanics and designers, it's become to easy and races are becoming more boring. I much prefer to watch an old classic race, they are more entertaining and they are real men racing. Racing changed a lot since you went, noting is the same now. I think I speak for a lot of people when I say We miss your racing but most of all, we miss you.

Thank you for all the excitement and enjoyment you gave us week after week, year after year. You will be forever missed and loved.

Love from and entire nation of Formula One supporters.

'Because in a split second, it's gone'