- Journal – I don’t know who and I don’t know why but I believe in angels. My experience changed me for the better.
- Real life – (July 28th, 2 months after accident) “Some people are waiting for another Martin Luther King or an Abraham Lincoln, or a Gandhi or that special somebody to show up. What if there isn't anybody? This is our time. What if it's up to us?
Consider this, an almost unthinkable scenario: A world without violence. Where no child is abused, no wife battered, no friend raped. A world without terror, without threats, without wounds from intentional actions. Where the strong provide for the vulnerable, where the vulnerable become empowered, where every kind of family is safe and secure,” Shie Fashe’s voice rang across the lush, green park, to the many spectators listening and watching. The small town girl as she continued, “…and girls and boys and women and men have a fair and equal chance at the pursuit of happiness in a tolerant and talented society.
A world without violence. Peace.
We can't even imagine it. The very thought eludes our grasp.
Why is that?”
- Journal – It is surprising how something that happens to you can change your out look on life. What changes you doesn’t have to be big. It can be a small thing such as pondering a thought for too long and letting it take over. With that thought, anything is possible. I know that now.
- Real life – (Continued) Is it a failure of our imagination? Burn-out-disappointment? Seeing too much reality? Gang killings? Stalking? Rapes? Battering? Child abuse? Too many wars? Or is it fear of failure? Are we too afraid to even dare to imagine it and therefore unable to even dream it?
I don't have the answer.”
- Journal – People at my school have always degraded me as a person. Possibly even thought of me as a lower life form. I don’t know the reason behind their taunts, rude remarks and the nasty looks that I get in the hallways, but I think that once they see the world through my eyes, they will begin to understand who I am and what I have been through. When that will be I have no idea. I just hope it is soon.
- Real life – (continued) “But I know the Vision is the ability to see the Invisible. To see beyond the violence and yet to place ourselves in front of it, so we can take compassionate action and create peace… that's my definition of courage.
We are surrounded by violence everyday. We see it, feel it, witness it or read and hear about it. Of course there's also the heartbreaking violence of nature -- hurricanes and earthquakes, but I'm talking about intentional violence. The capacity for violence is within each of us. Each moment that we refrain from hurting another being by speech, gestures, glance or deeds -- we are exercising courage. Often, thankfully, we are successful and in those quietly courageous moments… we are making peace.
Dare to make the invisible visible.” Shie Fashe was silent.
Suddenly, as if some one had taken the mute button and turned the volume on, the park erupted in clapping, cheering and chanting! Shie smiled and looked at the ground, then back up at the crowd. So many of these people, who once treated her horribly, were proud of her. Happy for what she was achieving. It all started because of her accident. Words were spoken and voices heard. The time for change has started. The word of Shie’s speech spread like wild fire through the town, and into neighboring towns, then on to big cities where thousands of people started speaking out. Wanting to help Shie reach her dream. Her dream was of a world without violence. One day in the near future (no one knows when, for it still has yet to happen) a cease-fire between all the countries of the world. All because of one girl choosing to make her voice heard.
- Journal – I do have big dreams, people just don’t realize that. Is it because I don’t have a voice to speak out? Is it because I am afraid of being judged? Why is it that people choose to gang up on one person, choosing to put her down with words, gestures and rumors? Is it because they have nothing better to do with their lives? Nothing better to do other than pick on some girl who doesn’t seem to have a lot. A girl who can be seen with one or two friends, a girl who is not surrounded by a huge crowd of people dressed in designer clothing. A girl who seems to have nothing, nothing to live for, nothing to strive for. I guess they don’t know me all that well… but I will show them. Show them how wrong they are, how truly unfair that they are being. One day… one day I will show them.
- Real life – (April 25th, present time) Sitting on the staircase of the high school was a young girl. She is about 16 years of age. Her name is Shie Fashe. What Shie doesn’t know is that she is bound for great things in her lifetime. She is not your typical teenager. She has been through more that most people can even begin to understand. Shie is average height, about 5’5, brown hair and matching eyes. She does not wear designer clothing like most of the other girls her age. Shie is a bully victim. Her safe place is the staircase. Between classes she can be found here madly writing in her journal. During classes she sits in the front, constantly being bombarded with spitballs and paper planes. But the spitballs and paper planes aren’t aimed at the teacher. They are aimed for Shie. The teachers don’t do any thing about it because she doesn’t complain. What every body doesn’t know is that she is slowly dying inside. Thinking that no one cares and that no one can help her. She is on a downward spiral. Shie has a very low confidence level and due to the bullying from other people she has lost respect for her self and everything around her.
- Journal – Most people think that I am a quiet and shy girl. But I am not quiet and shy. I refuse to blend into the background. I refuse to do what others wish for me to do. I only wish to do what I want. And I want my voice heard. I want to speak out loud and clear and for the world to know who I am and what I am fighting for. I fight for freedom, for peace, for the world to know no war. I fight for respect. We can all fight for what we want.
