Dare to be You

If you're looking for inspiration and a warm heart, take a few minutes to watch 

this short documentary (don't be fooled by documentary- it's 11 minutes long).

I had seen this video a couple of years ago when it went viral, but I recently watched it again and was just as moved. Caine throws himself into making this arcade and stays so positive each and every day. It's cute, yes, but it's also so inspiring. This kid loves arcades. So he makes his own in his free time. He uses the resources he has to make it the best he possibly can... and when nobody comes to the arcade, he uses the time as an opportunity to clean and improve his arcade. 

He never gets discouraged. He never gets down. 

He only works to improve.

It's so easy for me to get down on myself. When others are critical of my interests or when I don't get attention for something that I think I should. It's easy to get discouraged or quit. And when nobody pays attention to something that required so much work and time, the typical person would get frustrated, no matter how passionate or interested in that subject. Since I know I'm not the only one who goes through this, and that is exactly why I wanted to share Caine's story and his determination. There's so much that we can learn from this kid with the cardboard arcade.

It doesn't end there, though. I was moved by the kindness of the filmmaker. Instead of walking past, ignoring Caine and his makeshift arcade, he went and talked to him. He asked him about it, played the games, and fell in love with Caine's passion and excitement towards arcade games. And he decided to change Caine's life through his own personal abilities: filmmaking. 

and so it all comes full-circle...

the moment we dare to embrace our quirks and our interests that make us unique is the moment that we can change lives. We can change our own life, but we can also change the lives of others. And like Caine, the key to it all is staying determined, regardless of the way others make us feel. 

Be the best you.