Why thank you! I appreciate it.

In all honesty it made me feel really empty inside, but at the same time it was very eye opening. Put yourself in my shoes and imagine that you’re told that for your entire life a camera has on you and the entire world has seen it. At first I felt completely violated and realizing that him, my wife Meryl, my best friend Marlon, and everyone around me, even my dead dad treated me like some character on a show as just a plotline for the entertainment of others. While my initial reaction wasn’t the calmest I later realized that it half my life did not just go down in vain. My life inspired millions of people and as I looked outside of my hotel window, there were thousands of people chanting my name and at that point I realized this is not the end of Truman.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Definitely, ever since I got out and saw the world for its true colours, I often thought that if it would be better if I had just stayed in Seehaven. The world in a way would have been a better place for me at least since I’ve had a very secure future ahead of me. Had I stayed in Seehaven I would have had a great house, a beautiful wife, an amazing best friend, a great job, etc., etc. I’ve wondered whether it would be better for me if I didn’t know about this world and all of the suffering going on and at first I thought yes. When I came out of the set I was escorted into a hotel room and the first thing I did was that I turned on the television, I was looking at your show and you were talking about how logging in Brazil was affecting indigenous tribes in the region and what you said was very eye opening to me. After the segment ended I just couldn’t move. I was just thinking of those poor tribesmen and how terrible their lives may be since they have to constantly be aware of those who are trying to destroy their home, and it was in stark contrast to my life since I was the most protected person in the world.

 

 

Well while I was watching that segment my undivided attention was on it and I felt like I was a part of it, like my house was being destroyed and my children were being killed and I had committed suicide because I couldn’t take on what was going on. While I was watching your show I was clenching my fists so hard that by the time the segment ended my nails were covered in blood, and after it ended I opened up the computer next to my bed so I could learn more about the matter at hand. As I looked up what happened I saw that it was part of a bigger problem and that problem was part of an even bigger problem and on and on and I just felt completely useless and after a few months of living in the outside world, I seem to understand why people ignore the naked truth even when it’s right in front of them. They feel that after centuries of moving in the same direction that has led to death and destruction, a lot of people feel that they cannot steer the ship around.

 

Exactly! For the last few months I have been telling people to open their eyes and see what is in front of them, to get out of their comfort zone, identify the problem and do something to fix it. Humanity can’t afford to take the back seat and not be informed on what is happening. While it may be blissful for a while you can only turn away for so long because sooner or later your bubble is going to burst and you are going to be wondering what the heck you were thinking ignoring what was right in front of you. I feel that the entire world is a bit like the Truman show. People are going along their everyday life ignoring the fact that despite the fact that outside their mental world people are have to endure immense pain and suffering. Being a bystander means that you are part of the problem because rather than doing something, you are just letting the problem happen.

Thank you

 

Over my life I have been to a lot of places. Some of them are fancy and luxurious, while others have been dark and disturbing. The same goes for the places that I have lived in. Back in Mumbai everyday I would see dozens of people just laying on the street as I went to school, however while going HKIS there is a lot of contrast since I see a lot of high rise buildings and people going to their regular day jobs.

 

While I have been to a lot of third world countries and have seen a lot of distressing scenes but I can clearly remember the absolute worst. I can remember it so crystal clear that it’s like I’ve stepped on a piece of gum so sticky that I can’t scrape it off, and as much as I wish I cannot unsee it.

 

When I was younger kid living in Mumbai I had a lot of privileges, however knowing

that other people around me did not have the same privileges I rarely took anything

for granted. Despite the situation in my community I did occasionally lose touch

with my down to earth side and one of those times changed my life forever.

 

As the bus got off at my stop, I exhaled a sigh of relief. The grades have been locked in and I’ve turned in everything on time and as usual I procrastinated till the last minute. As I got off the bus, I decided to forget about work, school and anything that rings stress and decided to get a rest. As I headed home I saw a policeman talking with the security guard and a police van outside my building. While I was initially concerned my weariness got the best of me as I got home and collapsed onto my bed.

 

Getting up was the best feeling ever. I caught up on so much sleep that I probably compensated for the sleep I didn’t get throughout the semester, but feeling so fresh and exuberant I decided to go up to the 6^th floor to hang out with my best friend. When I got into the house he was playing FIFA on his PS3 and asked me if I had heard about what happened downstairs, I replied that I had no idea but that I saw a police officer by the building. He reacted like I had been living under a rock. “One of the drivers overdosed!” The moment those words came out his mouth I was shook, I could not believe what had happened. Who was it? How did it happen? What did he take? But he had no idea. 

 

As we were playing the PS3 I told him that we should go down and sneak into his room and check out what happened. At first he was reluctant, but after a bit of convincing he agreed. We decided to check it out at 2 o’ clock in the morning to avoid getting into trouble. While I thought it was cool back in retrospect that was one of the worst decisions that I have ever made.

At night a drank a lot of coke to stay up late and by the time it was one thirty I started to get ready. I got my phone to record the footage, I got a hoodie and track pants to cover myself and I headed down as quietly and as quickly as I could.

 

As I got down my friend was waiting for me and we mapped out the best way to could get in. Once we found the way we went to action and after a long and tense ordeal, we were able to get there. We were finally there. Right outside the door. Only a gentle push away. We counted down from three and pushed the door together. Once the door opened, we could not believe what we saw.

 

There was blood gushing all over the floor, foam in his mouth and bruises all over his body, all while his eyes were still wide open. The image was so distressing but I could not turn away. I wished. I wished so hard that it was a dream, but as I took another look, it felt more real than anything that I have ever seen.  After a while I had to look away and got out as quickly as we could without being caught.

 

As I got back into my house all I could think of was that harrowing picture that I had just seen, and I wish that I didn’t know what it looked like. While teachers and others may say that you should be curios and explore whatever you want, there are sometimes where you can be too curious and sometimes where knowing more isn’t better.