Category: People

Just like that, the refrain of Imagine Dragon’s song plays in your ears, “Pain, you made me a believer”. And with a confused facial expression, you wonder how a person can really praise pain like that, regardless of all the scars it has left with your heart. “Is that just a metaphor? Or is pain some kind of blessing or something?” You wonder.

In this life that some describe as ‘a double edged sword’, pain is almost like a stone that none can dodge. It exists and lives with us. Pain has created billions of enemies around the world, because, who would not hate it? However, I just have a simple question. ‘Have you ever thought of how your life would be without pain?’ Just picture a life where you can’t feel burnt upon touching a hot saucepan. A life where you can’t feel the stab of a nail until you see your feet painted with blood. Isn’t that even scarier?

Pain is more than just what it feels like, it is the body’s way of communication to us. Pain tells us what is going on. It tells us that our body temperature has risen, something got into our eyes, or simply that something went wrong in our body. Pain is not just a bad thing, pain is a sign that something bad happened. If we look on a brighter side, pain is just a loyal messenger.

Even if it is a curse to almost everyone, pain is just a pipe dream to some. To people with CIPA, a condition in which one’s body has an inability to feel pain, pain is something they wish they could feel. These people can’t even know it when they accidentally sit on a hot stove. They will always stay in the shadows until their body gets all destroyed beyond repair. So, do you still think pain is a bad thing?

Pain warns us

Just a simple example. The body’s way to let you know that you might have been attacked by a certain bacteria or a virus, is by raising the body temperature, giving you a headache, feeling nauseous, etc. upon these painful symptoms, you consult a medical scientist who diagnoses the disease and treats it. Now imagine if you couldn’t know that you’re attacked? You would never get treated and in the end, you’d just die. Pain warns us that danger is approaching so that we can get ourselves out of it before it is already too late.

It makes us passionate

All that pain does is make us question everything before we throw ourselves into it. Pain is what makes a teen come to school a bit earlier today, because she was punished yesterday. It is what makes a hungry person work regardless of the weakness. The fear of feeling pain tomorrow makes us wake up and give meaning to whatever we do.

Pain helps us set priorities

A wise man called Nietzsche said, ‘what does not kill you makes you stronger’. Just like a muscle, in order to be built up, we need to experience some portions of pain. Going through something bad trains us both physically and mentally so that tomorrow, we can even endure the worst.

It makes us wise

According to Al Ben-Shahar, a lecturer at Harvard University, wisdom emerges from the experience of suffering. It is every human’s nature that, when things go as expected, we rarely ask questions.

In the presence of difficulties, however, our minds are forced to reflect on our experiences, make different choices and find preventive measures for the worst. In what Khenchen Könchog Gyaltshen, founder of several Buddhist centres worldwide, addresses as the benefits of suffering, wisdom hits the top.

The truth is, we’ll always face difficulties as long as we are still breathing. Pain will just inform us and force us to find answers to that. We’ll always hate pain because it makes us cry, hurt and worse, but more importantly, we’ll always listen when pain speaks. We’ll always pay attention, learn and improve, thanks to pain.

It was on Saturday, holding my big sister’s smartphone on which I was watching YouTube shots. Just as I was recklessly sliding, I saw a caption that read like ‘a funny scene from Suspicious Partner’. Just as the movie name convinced me enough, I found myself watching it. Since then, I have been not just a fan but a lover of Korean movies.

Do you think it is just the drama that I fell head over heels for? Hot romantic scenes? Funny acting? No. Those are just a bonus. There are a lot of life lessons disguised in funny-like acting of Korean dramas, and those are what created my sweet addiction

Even though you’re most likely to encounter a lead who is almost non-human in Korean dramas, there are more to the fantasies, supernaturalism and unrealism that are depicted. If you’re ready, I will just give you a sip on hundreds of lessons I learned through this hobby:

Things aren’t always what they seem. In a movie called ‘Suspicious Partner’ where a girl was accused of killing her ex-boyfriend, the evidence, past, present and almost everything pointed at her. Everyone accused, hated and insulted her even when she knew she never did it. She would neither get a job nor a friend.

If it wasn’t for a person who decided to dig and reveal the truth, the girl would have really rotted in jail. Not always about crimes or justice things, sometimes we are forced to believe things just as they seem to be. This is why it is always easy for con artists to scam us.

There is also this movie where young entrepreneurs strive to turn their dream into reality, it is called ‘start up’. Though this might sound like a motivational joke to you, the most dangerous barrier between us and our success is our ‘mindset’ as the movie teaches. In this world where people suffer due to poverty and whatever, everything is most likely to fail if you don’t have a diligent mind.

Everyone has their own uniqueness, and that can be used for their success, be it financial, relationship or anything. I have learned it from most of the second leads of K-dramas. Sometimes all we do is waste our time envying others and dreaming of what they have instead of recognizing and making use of our own abilities. Everyone has got drawbacks but strengths are there too. Embracing that, countless opportunities await us.

Most importantly, I have learned that as long as I am being truthful and doing my best, all I have to do is give it time. Just like the saying ‘the truth will prevail’, K-dramas has taught me to believe in positivity that loyalty bears.

On top of that, Korean movies have taught me a lot about science, history and relationships. You can’t believe that I first heard of phobias through them. Sometimes I could even sit in an exam and answer a certain question according to what I got from them.

Whether you’re at the edge of giving up, feeling down or chasing knowledge, if you’re a movie lover, I hope you learn to choose ones that can help with your certain situations. And like that I hope you get all incredible lessons and try to execute what you learned.

In this loud world where humans, machines and everything make intolerable noises, it is almost impossible to spend an hour in total silence. Even if one chooses to, it always feels like a lethal penalty, because after all, our lips are there to express what our brain thinks.

Even after experiencing abuse, torture and humiliation, sometimes our emotions are too strong to be easily pronounced. Even if they were, sometimes the truth that none is going to understand or give a real meaning to what you’re feeling hits hard, and that is when you wish you could just choose silence even when it is not easy.

Every living human seeks for understanding. None wishes to be misunderstood at least when their lips are not sealed. This is probably why everyone struggles to speak, be it for the purpose of winning an argument, showing their knowledge or simply getting themselves from any kind of trouble. However, though speaking for yourself can really help, the power of silence should never be neglected.

When I asked my friend if she thinks silence really helps, she smiled a bit and gave me a satisfying answer.

“Keeping silence is really a powerful tool when it comes to creative thinking. There is this time when I felt like I couldn’t think anymore. I am a content writer, so thinking was a part of my job. When that happened, I tried all possible things but none worked. That’s when I decided to practice silence. It was only after 2 hours that I started getting ideas, and from then, silence has become my loyal assistance in thinking and creating new things,” she said.

Silence exists as a free tranquilizer in times of uneasiness. During all troubles and stress that we experience in life, silence emerges as the best way to endure all of it. It gives us a sense of peace and mental clarity. It additionally improves our listening, learning and decision-making ability.

According to Dr. Cloninger, silence gives us time and space to understand who we are.

“Silence leaves us alone with our inner dialogue, which allows us to reflect, resolve conflicts, and understand our feelings by granting us access to higher levels of our own creativity and inspiration. Being alone with our inner voices is crucial to knowing ourselves,” he said.

Though silence is not everyone’s pill to swallow, especially, in this roaring world, it carries hidden treasures once embraced. It is undoubtedly worthwhile when practiced.

You might be among people who fell in love with music, admiring every part of it, alphabet by alphabet, until you found yourself fully sunk. But it would be such a shame if you weren’t aware of your lover’s capability. Because in this world full of chaos, music emerges as an umbrella that blocks the storms of pain, sadness, etc.

Music is a language so universal and easy that it transcends linguistic, cultural and age barriers. I am sure you have noticed that at the beat of drums and the sound of guitars and pianos, grandfathers, mothers, teens and even toddlers move up as if something like magic boosted their mood.

If you’re a part of a big family, you might also have discerned how babies are sung lullabies so that they can sleep. It’s not only them, because even you, sometimes, put earphones in your ears, play the music, and close your eyes so that you can sleep peacefully. This is why most of us agreed with George Elliot when he said “life seems to go without effort when I am filled with music”.

Though all these explain the bliss we get through music, it doesn’t just stop by there. Music goes into the depths and blesses our lives from the physical aspect to the physiological aspect.

According to science, listening to music increases the blood flow to the brain region that generates and controls emotions. When our ears perceive music, this part of the brain lights up and releases chemicals like dopamine that trigger sensation of pleasure and wellbeing. The release of these chemicals might be the reason for the chills you feel when you hear a certain moving piece of music.

As you listen to the song multiple times, the brain might get used to it, then your body will release dopamine upon hearing just a few words of the song. This is why you always feel something strange when the first beat of your favorite song gets on the play. Interestingly though, music has an ability to change our moods even when we don’t recognize the lyrics or distinguish melodies.

Furthermore, neurologists have claimed that listening to music improves memories. In the past years, it was believed that the melody of a certain song can only improve the area of memory related to music. This is the reason why couples always play the kind of music played on their first date, so that they can enhance their memories of that day.

However it has been recently stated that music can also have a positive effect on the general memory. That being the fact, Catherine Loveday, a neuropsychologist, declared her theory that no other mental stimulus triggers the brain development as powerfully as music does.

Working memory and the center for speech and language are parts of the brain that benefit from playing a musical instrument. In this line, studies have shown that music can be used to treat diseases associated with memory loss like dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

You might also have noticed that some women listen to music during labor or just any other thing that gives pain. The ability of music to distract is associated with its pain-relieving ability. When our brains are focused on the enchanting melody, we do not notice our cramps, aching back, etc.

Suppose you are attending a meeting and tea is being served. Upon looking inside your cup, you recognize that there is only a small quantity of tea. Would you complain about your cup being unfilled, or would you just embrace the warmth of the tea as you take a sip after another?

While a pessimist will always look at a rainy day and think of how it ruined their plans, an optimist will look at every drop that falls and fantasize about how flowers will bloom because of that same rain. Optimists will always believe in a successful plan, a beautiful tomorrow and a blissful future.

According to science, optimism is beneficial not in the way one gets out of trouble, but in the way they react to stressful events. Optimists will always find a positive lens to view things through, which in the end, will bring bliss into their lives. If we dive in, we’ll find more benefits of optimism:

Optimists live a good long life. This might be due to the fact that optimists are thought to engage in healthy behaviors like eating well, laughing a lot, working out, etc. These behaviors are believed to boost their immune system and improve their cardiovascular life which in return extend their lifetime.

Apart from that, optimists’ bodies produce a small amount of stress hormones, and in the end, this prevents the accidental increase in their blood sugar and developing diabetes.

Optimists achieve a lot. I am sure you know at least one person who gives up before they even start something. To be honest, how can you get something if you’ve never tried it? According to Albert Einstein, ‘a person who never made a mistake has never tried anything new’. Through this and a positive mind, an optimist tries out everything, be it difficult or almost impossible. This makes them learn a lot and achieve a lot.

Adding to all these, optimists tend to be emotionally healthy. Just close your eyes and picture a person who always sees the good in every situation.

Even if their loved one is in the operating room, they are as calm as a beautiful ocean. On that note, how would they ever be emotionally unwell if nothing ever stresses them? Because after all, emotional wellbeing dies when we are overwhelmed by stress of any kind.

Some people are blessed enough to be born as optimists that they don’t have to put any effort into it. However, it is not so depressing if you’re not one. As long you want to become so optimistic, here are tips on how to practice it:

Practice gratitude

Yes, there are a lot of things that we lack. But what if we were to take a look at what we already have? Aren’t they precious and worth our gratitude? By appreciating little things, we train our minds to be grateful for whatever life brings in front of us.

Don’t blame yourself when things go wrong

Always remember that mistakes happen in life. We are only humans, making mistakes is a part of our life and it is the only way we can learn new things.

Remind yourself that setbacks are temporal

Everything passes. If you get a small grade in your CAT, for instance, always remember that you can do better tomorrow. You can just create improvement opportunities instead of blaming yourself. Remember beating yourself up only brings wounds.

Reward yourself

Whenever you achieve or do something, be it big or just small, give yourself credits. Recognize your efforts and appreciate yourself. Buy yourself something if you can and if you can’t, at least call yourself cool names.

In this life where things happen and fall out of our hands, it is only right to accept and appreciate what is already here, especially now that we know that not everything can be changed. With an optimistic mind, changing what we can and being grateful for what we have is almost all we need to live long with a smile on our faces.

Davis was raised in Central Falls, Rhode Island, where her father found work as a horse groom at nearby racetracks and her mother took on domestic and factory jobs. Their income was frequently insufficient to support the family, and they endured grim rat-infested apartments and occasional food shortages. As a child, Davis began acting in school productions and theater competitions. She enrolled at Rhode Island College, where she majored in theater and graduated in 1988.

Davis proceeded to the Young People’s School for the Performing Arts in Rhode Island on scholarship before attending the Juilliard School, from which she graduated in 1994.

She has been marked in different Movies like ‘The woman King’, ‘How to get away with Murder’ , ‘The Help’ , ‘doubt’ , ‘Fences’, ‘The Hunger’ and ‘Air’.

She did not stop there as she went beyond and wrote a book titled ‘Finding Me’.

In her book, you will meet a little girl named Viola who ran from her past until she made a life-changing decision to stop running forever.

“This is my story, from a crumbling apartment in Central Falls, Rhode Island, to the stage in New York City, and beyond. This is the path I took to finding my purpose but also my voice in a world that didn’t always see me.”

As She wrote ‘Finding Me’, her eyes were open to the truth of how our stories are often not given close examination.

“We are forced to reinvent them to fit into a crazy, competitive, judgmental world. So I wrote this for anyone running through life untethered, desperate and clawing their way through murky memories, trying to get to some form of self-love. For anyone who needs reminding that a life worth living can only be born from radical honesty and the courage to shed facades and be . . . you.

Finding Me is a deep reflection, a promise, and a love letter of sorts to self. My hope is that my story will inspire you to light up your own life with creative expression and rediscover who you were before the world put a label on you.”

Awards and recognition

Davis’s list of accolades reads like a testament to her exceptional abilities. With numerous awards and nominations in her illustrious career, she stands as a true role model for emerging talents. Her collection of honors includes a Primetime Emmy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards for television, two Tony Awards, and three Drama Desk Awards for her theater performances.

In the world of film, she has achieved the pinnacle, securing an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, three Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards, a record she shares with Renée Zellweger.

Breaking barriers

Davis’s remarkable achievements extend beyond the accolades. She has carved her path as a trailblazer in an industry that often presents challenges to people of color, especially women.

Davis’s four Academy Award nominations make her the most nominated black actress in history, a testament to her resilience and talent.

The power of representation

Davis has consistently chosen roles that challenge societal norms and shed light on important issues. Her portrayal of Aibileen Clark in the film “The Help” is a prime example. The movie, set in the racially segregated 1960s America, explores the harrowing experiences of Black women working as maids in white households.

While the film has faced criticism for its approach, Davis’s performance, along with those of other Black actors like Octavia Spencer, shines as a beacon of strength and resilience.

Davis herself has acknowledged the film’s flaws, particularly its focus on a white protagonist’s perspective, which can be seen as a “white savior” narrative.

Despite this, her portrayal of Aibileen Clark serves as a powerful reminder of the resilience and strength of Black women during challenging times. It is a performance that inspires young women to use their voices to challenge injustice and discrimination.

Inspiration for young women

Davis’s journey from modest beginnings to becoming one of the few performers to achieve the coveted EGOT status (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Her dedication to her craft, her fearlessness in tackling complex and important roles, and her commitment to speaking out on issues of representation and social justice make her a beacon of hope and empowerment for young women everywhere.

Aspiring actresses and women looking to break into the entertainment industry can draw inspiration from Viola Davis’s incredible career. She has shown that talent, hard work, and a commitment to meaningful storytelling can overcome even the most significant obstacles.

Davis is not just an actress; she is a symbol of empowerment, a reminder that women, particularly women of color, can achieve greatness in an industry that has historically been exclusive. Her legacy will continue to inspire generations of young women to pursue their dreams and make their voices heard, both on and off the screen.

In the midst of Hollywood’s evolving landscape, Viola Davis stands tall, reminding us all that the power of representation and the strength of character can change the world. Young women, take note: Viola Davis’s journey is a testament to the heights you can reach when you dare to dream and work relentlessly to make those dreams a reality.

Nyirabazungu 55, now a resident of Ntarama Sector of Bugesera District, was married to Servilien Kambari who was the leader ‘Conseiller’ of former Kibungo Sector in current Bugesera District.

Kambari used a gun to kill many Tutsi including those who had fled to Ntarama Catholic Church where they took refuge believing killers would not dare to kill people in the ‘house of God.”

Kambari later died in the attacks the former RPA (Rwanda Patriotic Army) Inkotanyi soldiers carried out to liberate Bugesera District and surrounding areas to protect and save victims who were being killed in the 1994 genocide against Tutsi.

Talking to IGIHE, Nyirabazungu, said she hid one Celestin Mugabe who then was 20 years old.

“It was on Sunday when other people had gone to pray and from churches they came back saying killings had started,” Nyirabazungu recounts.

“At around 3 PM, Celestin Mugabe came to my house carrying a bag and asked my help as his fellow Tutsi were being killed. I put him in my house. His mother and his siblings went to hide in the swamp where I took them food in the evening,” she says.

Nyirabazungu adds that she kept hiding Mugabe and his two other younger brothers who came later into his house.

While Nyirabazungu was hiding Mugabe, her husband Servilien Kambari woke up every day and went to Ntarama to kill Tutsi.

“I kept feeding Mugabe’s parents from neighboring homes where they hid. I told my children to keep it as a secret that Mugabe was hiding at our house. Every day, Interahamwe militias came to my house looking for the young boy I hid but my children and I kept denying his presence at our house,” Nyirabazungu adds.

Nyirabazungu says that Mugabe’s parents later decided to flee to Ntarama Church where they believed their lives would be saved but they were killed on the way.

Few days later, Mugabe also left Nyirabazungu’s house as killers kept looking for him but fortunately survived.

“On my heart, I always feel the pride to have saved somebody’s life during the genocide. It pains that my husband killed several others. Now Mugabe is alive and he is a father to four children,” Nyirabazungu says adding that “people should be generous and truthful.”

Some personalities are positive and others are potentially harmful–and an important element of developing self-awareness is knowing which personas to nurture and which to neglect.

Here are seven of the most common personalities that are destroying your success. Pay attention because they are toxic and harmful.

1. The ambivalent persona:

If you live in a frequent state of conflicting reactions, beliefs, or feelings toward people and experiences, learn to resolve them internally. Even if it comes from being tuned in to subtleties, ambivalence makes you come across as wavering and uncertain. Foster instead a persona that is thoughtful but decisive.

2. The negative persona:

Negativity leads almost inevitably to defeatist thinking and cynicism. Train yourself to think in positive ways instead of viewing everything from a pessimistic mindset. Look for win-win solutions.

3. The procrastinator persona:

People like to joke about procrastination, but putting off or delaying something that requires immediate attention can be incredibly damaging. It can cause you to miss deadlines, since you don’t have any pad for things to go wrong. And even if you manage to complete the task on time it’s not likely to be your best work. If procrastination is an issue for you, break projects down into smaller tasks and hold yourself to a schedule.

4. The jealous persona:

People get jealous when they feel that someone else has something that should be theirs; they often blame others around them rather than recognizing their own emotions. Envy is harmful enough that it’s one of the seven deadly sins–it robs you of any contentment or joy in the things you’ve accomplished and earned, focusing all your energy instead on what you lack.

5. The entitled persona:

When you come to believe that you deserve special privileges or treatment, that the rules shouldn’t apply to you, or that you are above other people, you do set yourself apart–just not in the way that you intended. The primary effect is that it becomes nearly impossible to develop the relationships that are critical to success.

6. The victim persona:

At the core of victimhood is refusing to accept your part in causing a problem and being unable to accept responsibility–instead blaming others or just refusing to acknowledge the problem. Legitimate success requires a sense of personal responsibility and accountability.

7. The perfectionist persona:

Each one of us has imperfections, whether we accept them or not. Seeking perfection in ourselves and others is destructive. It’s far healthier and more beneficial to admit to our flaws and bring them into the light rather than rendering the false front of a supposedly perfect life.

8. The narcissist persona:

If you believe that you deserve success and you’re willing to go to extreme lengths to ensure that that it happens, even at the expense of others, if you view other people as competition or threats and tend to look out only for yourself, your narcissistic tendencies are alienating the people around you. Come down to the level of reality and realize that you’re no better or worse than anyone around you. Then you can relate to others and build relationships.

There are plenty of other possible personas, positive and negative. Devote some time to thinking about your own personas and how you should be dealing with them. When you successfully manage your tendencies, you’ll never find yourself standing in the way of your own success. Be intentional and be successful.

With Inc.

Former Rayon Sports and National Football team (Amavubi) goalkeeper, Evariste Mutuyimana was yesterday laid to rest.

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