INSPIRING LIFE LESSONS FROM A REAL LIFE HERO: CHADWICK BOSEMAN

 

“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.”……… Christopher Reeve

Facing a personal challenge or fighting a silent battle is not alien to anyone. Don’t we all have them? Sometimes, life gives you ice cream and sometimes, it’s lemons, and before you say “Oh no! Not the lemons”. Remember that too much ice cream is as bad as too much lemons. Okay, okay, enough about lemons and ice cream. Let’s replace that with what we actually experience as humans. Happiness, love, satisfaction, health, sickness, sadness, dissatisfaction, bankruptcy, pressure, and many more life experiences that are sometimes in our favor, and sometimes against us. No one has the perfect life, yet we must fulfill purpose if living right and living well is part of our overall goal.

That was what Chadwick Aaron Boseman represented for me. He was full of love for others, celebration of people’s achievements, compassion for sick children and dedication to the job he loved. All these, despite his own personal battles. Especially the one he fought during the last four years of his life.

He was one determined and driven young man. The same year he got his first television role in “Third Watch”, he portrayed Reggie Montgomery in the soap ”All My Children” but voiced his concerns about the racist stereotypes that the script contained. This and his active support for the freedom of immigrants and uniting families, show excellent principles and display of values. He has also portrayed notable personalities like Jack Robinson in “42”, James Brown in “Get it Up”.
From 2016, when he was diagnosed with colon cancer, he starred in “Gods of Egypt”, “Avengers”, “21 Bridges”, and “Da 5 Bloods”. He created the best movies during the most difficult times in his life. I took two lessons from that.

Make Lemonade

I’ve learnt to utilize the difficult times in my life wisely, to use my pains to acquire my gains, because we really shouldn’t let our predicament be an excuse not to forge ahead. I need to make my impact with the resources I have, and always make the space I occupy worthwhile. So, no matter what corner of the world you are, impact that corner. Each one of us is here for a purpose. We are all needed here, and we all matter.
We should also learn to be strong. While it sounds cliché, and you may even wonder how. It is possible to be. Being strong isn’t never being tired or needing rest or help with our problems. It is alright to feel all that and more. To be strong is to know within you that you do not intend to give up. It is when you know that you will fall and you aren’t afraid to, but you also know that you
will rise because you need to, because you don’t intend to keep laying down forever, because you were exceptionally made for a purpose and you intend to fulfill it while enjoying every minute of that which, brings you joy and contentment.

Do You!

Fight your own battle, enjoy your own wins and bravely live your truth. Focus on every scoop of ice cream that life has given you. Your job, family, health, peace. Learn gratitude and verbally affirm and show gratitude for everyone of your wins. When we focus on our idea of what we think happiness or success is based on or what we see on social platforms. It puts us in a space where we are constantly running a race with others who are oblivious that we are even in the race because, guess what, the race was just meant for them. We should not validate ourselves based on people’s opinion. We needn’t look for people’s sympathy too, because most times what you get is judgment. Chadwick Aaron Boseman was strong till the end. The opinions of people and their judgment didn’t matter. And they had nothing to judge or have an opinion on because he celebrated himself and fought his battles without the echoes of people. Chadwick Aaron Boseman’s life is the perfect illustration for these two lessons that have stuck with me.

I know you also have adjectives to describe Chadwick, I have two: “Dedicated and persevering”. Do share the lessons that you got from his life in the comment section.

Written By  Islamiyah Olalekan. A Psychologist and STEM educator. She loves to write as a means of adding her voice to mental wellness and healthy relationships. Writing calms her and helps in her personal journey of self discovery.