Ryan Boyland - Resilience

00:02:51
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3TAH44zDdY

Summary

TLDRThe speaker narrates their journey from being born with a notable physical challenge—specifically, a disabled right arm due to a difficult birth—to overcoming and embracing resilience and determination. The story highlights early medical interventions that failed, and how the speaker was supported by his mother's teachings and encouragement. Despite dealing with immense challenges and numerous doctor visits that offered little promise, the narrator remains unyielding, finding strength in 'never giving up'. They express gratitude towards their body, viewing it as a blessing, despite its imperfections. This motivational narrative ultimately celebrates the speaker's unwavering belief in persevering against the odds, conveying a powerful message of self-acceptance and determination.

Takeaways

  • 💪 Embrace your imperfections as strengths.
  • 🌱 Resilience is woven into your DNA.
  • 🏃‍♂️ Never quit, no matter the struggles.
  • 💡 Turn pain into beauty; learn from it.
  • 😊 Your body is a blessing, not a curse.
  • 🎁 Appreciate the gift of life despite challenges.
  • 📖 Every scar tells a story of triumph.
  • ✊ Break the world's limits with determination.
  • 🌊 Challenges deepen roots and build strength.
  • 🏆 Celebrate every small victory in life.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:02:51

    The narrative begins with a reflection on the speaker's birth as a large baby, which resulted in complications including nerve damage to his right arm. Despite a challenging start, marked by numerous medical interventions and suggestions, the speaker emphasizes his resilience and stubborn refusal to give up. This determination is characterized by a series of decisions and attempts to adapt, although medical remedies often proved ineffective. The speaker describes his life as a blend of struggle and resilience, comparing natural disasters to his own challenges but emphasizing the strength and roots that these have given him. He recognizes his imperfections, symbolized by his uneven arms, but sees this as a part of his being, integrating the beauty in his perceived flaws into his identity, embracing life as a perseverant, joyful journey despite adversities. The narrative concludes with a powerful affirmation of self-love and tenacity.

Mind Map

Video Q&A

  • What caused the narrator's physical disability?

    The narrator's right arm was damaged during a natural birth, resulting in nerve damage beyond repair.

  • How did the narrator's mother support his development?

    The narrator's mother taught him to write with his left hand and encouraged perseverance despite the challenges.

  • What kind of surgeries were considered or attempted to improve the narrator's arm condition?

    The narrator mentions a doctor considering breaking his collarbone to set it correctly, but ultimately, surgeries didn't succeed in fixing the issue.

  • What is the narrator's attitude towards giving up?

    The narrator is determined and refuses to give up, showing resilience and a strong will to overcome adversity.

  • How does the narrator view his own body?

    He sees his body as a blessing, despite its imperfections, and embraces it as a part of his identity.

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Subtitles
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  • 00:00:02
    I was a fat baby.
  • 00:00:05
    Twelve pounds, seven ounces, as my mother likes to remind me
  • 00:00:08
    entirely too often.
  • 00:00:09
    I probably should've been born by C-section,
  • 00:00:12
    but the doctor opted for a natural birth.
  • 00:00:14
    I got stuck.
  • 00:00:18
    The doctor grabbed my right arm with what my father described
  • 00:00:20
    as a yanking and pulling motion.
  • 00:00:22
    I was born.
  • 00:00:24
    My lungs folded in on themselves, nerves damaged beyond repair.
  • 00:00:28
    This newborn baby boy was airlifted to a hospital over an hour away.
  • 00:00:31
    For the first year of my life, I could not move my right arm.
  • 00:00:34
    For the next 17, my world was filled with the haze of doctor's offices
  • 00:00:37
    and empty promises.
  • 00:00:39
    I was born Jekyll and Hyde,
  • 00:00:41
    two halves with no hope of ever becoming whole.
  • 00:00:43
    I don't say this looking for sympathy.
  • 00:00:46
    I just want you to know that I've never been very good at giving up.
  • 00:00:49
    I am disgustingly stubborn.
  • 00:00:52
    When I was three, my mother taught me to write with the wrong hand
  • 00:00:55
    to hopefully make it some kind of useful.
  • 00:00:57
    When I was eight, the doctor locked my right arm
  • 00:00:58
    in a cast for six weeks to try to fix it.
  • 00:01:00
    All of my classmates signed it.
  • 00:01:02
    It took something ugly and made it beautiful.
  • 00:01:04
    Later, with my face pressed into a wet pillow,
  • 00:01:07
    I asked God why he couldn't do the same with me.
  • 00:01:09
    When I was 13, a doctor offered to break my collarbone in three places
  • 00:01:12
    to make everything fit right.
  • 00:01:14
    I said, "Doc, do what you gotta do. I've been hurting my whole life.
  • 00:01:17
    What's a few more weeks of pain?"
  • 00:01:19
    He opted against it, and the worst part is, none of it worked.
  • 00:01:22
    But I'm still the same kind of stubborn I've always been,
  • 00:01:26
    the type to fall down seven times and still end up on my feet.
  • 00:01:29
    Resilience is a thread weaving together the strands of my DNA.
  • 00:01:33
    Where I'm from, rivers shirk their banks and try to swallow our cities whole.
  • 00:01:36
    But, you forget how deep our roots go.
  • 00:01:39
    All this water only ever made us stronger.
  • 00:01:41
    Tornadoes just feel like a Tuesday.
  • 00:01:43
    The only natural disaster I know is when I said, "I can't,"
  • 00:01:46
    and my mother-turned-coach made me run until I was wise enough
  • 00:01:49
    not to know better.
  • 00:01:51
    She said, "Boy, you can do anything you put your mind to.
  • 00:01:54
    This world is your oyster and your hands were only ever made
  • 00:01:57
    for breaking stuff apart, so do what you were born to do
  • 00:02:00
    and bust this world wide open."
  • 00:02:01
    I ain't never quit, and I don't plan on starting now.
  • 00:02:04
    Every scar I wear is a promise I made to myself that I refuse to break.
  • 00:02:08
    I see my uneven arms and remember that I am still alive, every day.
  • 00:02:12
    Still only two halves of a man, but now more whole than I have ever been.
  • 00:02:16
    I stand here, ready to lay that poetic smackdown on you
  • 00:02:19
    with either one hand or two.
  • 00:02:20
    My body is a birthday present wrapped in Christmas paper.
  • 00:02:24
    It's a gift in imperfect packaging,
  • 00:02:26
    joy, covered in pain.
  • 00:02:27
    My body is a blessing, is a blessing, is a blessing.
  • 00:02:31
    No matter how many times I've called it a curse,
  • 00:02:33
    it is a beautiful reminiscence,
  • 00:02:34
    a joyful reminder for every time I look in the mirror
  • 00:02:37
    and remember that giving up has never been an option.
  • 00:02:42
    (cheers and applause)
Tags
  • resilience
  • disability
  • motivation
  • perseverance
  • self-acceptance
  • determination
  • personal growth
  • overcoming adversity
  • strength
  • identity