You don’t need to watch Buzzfeed videos to be amazed. There is inspiration everywhere.

Don’t you just hate those videos on Facebook with the headlines “The judges made him stop, what happened next will blow your mind, minute 4.07 was my favourite” or ‘This boy will amaze you with his version of Let it GO”. I HATE THEM! I generally don’t click on them and the times I have been dumb enough to I always want to face palm myself for being an idiot.

One of the lesser aims of these videos, or at least why people share them, is to inspire and let the viewer feel good. People share them at an alarming rate so clearly they do inspire and amaze and blow people away which is great but there is often inspiration and amazing things happening right in front of us if we just open our eyes.

Last night Kiara had her schools culture evening. I wasn’t particularly excited about the whole thing because she wasn’t performing but did have a piece of artwork up in the art display that she wanted us to see so off we went, all 6 of us, over bed time. The evening was made of us 31 events that included songs, speeches, drumming and poetry.

Before I explain what happened I have to explain the make up of Kiara’s school for those that may not know. From Grade 1- Grade 10 there is a remedial class and a mainstream class and there is a class for the severely disabled children. The children in the remedial class have issues ranging from ADD to Autism to Dyslexia and the disabled children also vary in the levels of disability, some are able to walk and talk, others aren’t. From the babies to Grade 0 the kids are mixed. Jack has a little girl with down syndrome in his class – she gets so excited when she sees him and he gets just as excited. It’s very sweet. I have mentioned this often because it is one of the reasons I love this school.

Back to the the concert, they began with the younger grades and it was all very sweet and the little ones were very cute. The piece with the disabled children was particularly moving, some of them had their helpers with them but they sang and danced and did really well. I still wasn’t particularly feeling like being there until a young boy from the Grade 6 remedial stream started playing the drums. This child got lost in the music. He had his head phones on and he played his heart out. It was incredible. He was amazing. He loved the huge response he got from the audience but avoided looking out at us.

Then a quirky Sheldon type young man came on and also played the drums. As he walked onto the stage he looked uncomfortable and out of place (very much like Sheldon from Big Bang) but the second the music started, he forget about us and played his drums like his life depended on it. He received a similar response from the audience and gave a shy smile before walking hurriedly off the stage.

A few items later a young girl walked on to the stage. I have seen this child when I fetch Kiara and Jack, she is in high school. She is a quirky young lady, often saying things that seem out of place but when she started singing I put my phone down and listened. It was phenomenal. She sang Taylor Swifts Never Grow Up. I have never heard the song before but when I listened to it, I actually think this young lady sang it better. It was one of the most moving performances I have ever seen.

These kids may not fit into boxes that society expects them to. They may be quirky or quiet or talk to loud or take a while longer to figure out algebra but let me tell you something they are incredibly talented and have clearly found a refuge in music, even more important though they have found teachers who celebrate that and encourage it.

I don’t think any amount of inspirational videos can create the feeling that you get when you experience amazing moments in real life. We forget that real life is more amazing than what is on our computer screens. There are more amazing moments all around us than we will ever be able to watch on Buzzfeed – we just have to open our eyes, feel them, experience them and remind ourselves how amazing life really is.

What amazing moments have you experienced recently?

PS – A video titled “Watching These Dogs Eat Peanut Butter In Slow Motion Is Everything We’ve Ever Wanted” just hit my feed. It made me smile!

PPS – LISTEN to that Taylor Swift song, I dare you not to get a little choked up!