As you have most likely guessed from the title of this blog, I have many thoughts on The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. While it is a "challenge" to pour a bucket of ice cold water on your head, I think there are other challenges that come along with this new trend:
1. Should I do it?
2. Should I upload it to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Vine, etc.?
3. Should I do the challenge and also donate?
4. Should I just donate and not pour ice water?
5. Will people think I'm just following a trend?
6. Should I show people that even though I'm not pouring the ice water, that I at least donated?
Over the weeks that this has been going on and becoming more and more popular, I have seen some of the people that I follow on social media make remarks about how they can't wait until the Ice Bucket Challenge is over. I understand where they are coming from as I was so ready for people to quit uploading videos of their kids, celebrities, and random strangers singing "Let It Go" or some terrible parody of the song. However, I had a change of heart when I thought to myself, "if this is what makes them smile today, why should I care if it's the 8000th time I've heard this song?" Social media can be a very powerful outlet, if we allow it to be.
Here's some facts about ALS:
1. ALS can strike anyone.
2. The onset of ALS is insidious with muscle weakness or stiffness as early symptoms. Progression of weakness, wasting and paralysis of the muscles of the limbs and trunk as well as those that control vital functions such as speech, swallowing and later breathing generally follows.
3. About twenty percent of people with ALS live five years or more and up to ten percent will survive more than ten years and five percent will live 20 years. There are people in whom ALS has stopped progressing and a small number of people in whom the symptoms of ALS reversed.
(www.alsa.org)
Here's the BIG PICTURE, PEOPLE. The main reason of the Ice Bucket Challenge was to raise awareness and to raise money to fund research efforts. Should it really matter if someone is doing it to just follow the crowd? Even if someone did the challenge and didn't donate, ALS is being talked about. On the ALS Association website a press release from today states, "As of Sunday, August 24th, The ALS Association has received $70.2 million in donations compared to $2.5 million during the same time period last year (July 29 to August 24). These donations have come from existing donors and 1.3 million new donors to The Association."
Let's focus on the positive here. Donations increased by roughly $68 million dollars. That's wonderful if you ask me. Not only that, but there are 1.3 million new donors. So for all you naysayers out there, I'm pretty sure it's working, even if it is annoying you. And for that matter, get off social media if you are tired of it. Because really, aren't you just following a popular trend yourself by even having social media accounts? Regardless of whether or not someone is doing it for the right reason, it's working, and I think it's pretty cool.
If myself or a loved one had ALS or some other illness and people across the country were dumping ice cold water on their heads and donating to help further research to find a cure for that illness, I would be so incredibly grateful. I've seen where people think it's pretty narcissistic to participate in the challenge and upload these videos to social media outlets, but I think it's pretty narcissistic to be thinking about how much you are being annoyed by it rather than thinking of the people directly affected by ALS and how much these donations and the chatter about it means to them.
We all have our moments and I in no way am trying to hurt anyone's feelings by writing this. Sometimes, I just think we are too critical and a different perspective on things can cause you to think about something in a way you never would have before. The biggest thing I would say is just to always try and put yourself in other people's shoes. I think when we truly try and understand what it would be like to face the challenges that someone else faces daily, we start thinking a little less about ourselves and more about others. Isn't that what Christ would ask us to do?
"Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." Phil 2:4
I've uploaded this video on Facebook already, but it really did open my eyes to the challenges that people with ALS and their caretakers go through every day. It's way more challenging that a couple seconds of cold.
Xoxo,
Nicole
