We're All a Little Lost Sometimes, but It's Okay

In The Brezas of Carifa series, one of the main themes of the story, Who Am I? is the importance of focus and perspective. When you concentrate on the more pleasant things in life, your days become much more enjoyable, and you train yourself to notice the positive. You always have the choice to focus on either the positive or the negative sides of any situation. Ultimately, life is about the choices you make and the outcomes that stem from them.

On America’s Got Talent in June of 2021, a remarkable young woman named Jane Kristen Marczewski, aka Nightbirde, performed an original song called “It’s Okay.” As the panel questioned her before she sang, it was revealed that she hadn’t worked recently because she was fighting cancer. The panel fell silent.

Nightbirde smiled and said, “It’s okay.”

Although she had a lovely voice, what was so memorable for me about her performance was what she said before and after she sang. 

Before she sang her song, Simon asked, “How are you now?” She nonchalantly mentioned the organs to which the cancer had spread and then asserted, “It's important that everyone knows I'm so much more than the bad things that happen to me.” I was floored! Here is this young woman singing about her own life-threatening illness, all while radiating joy, grace, and strength.

After she sang, and in the casual conversation that followed, she announced, "You can't wait until life isn't hard anymore before you decide to be happy." Again, I was astounded that someone so young, just 30 years old, had within her this profound wisdom—insights that many never achieve after having lived a full life! I truly believe she was here to teach the world an enormously important life lesson. It was her choice to direct her focus to the brighter side of life, things she could still laugh about, enjoy, and appreciate. She celebrated what remained beautiful.

Ever so often, I go to AGT to watch her performance and remind myself how important our daily focus is to our well-being.  

Simon gave her the Golden Buzzer. After she walked off stage, she remarked in a brief interview: "I have a 2% chance of survival, but 2% is not zero percent. Two percent is something, and I wish people knew how amazing it is." 

The gifts hidden in those few sentences she spoke resonate deeply within me. I often wonder how many people who watched her in that moment—both in the theater and on TV—were amazed and still think of her. Are they still moved by the soft, wise words she spoke? How many are still affected by what she said? How many people have shared the story or the link to Nightbirde's performance?

One of the phrases in “It’s Okay” is "We’re all a little lost sometimes, and it’s all right." Although Jane lost her battle with cancer, I have to believe that, through her choices, she reached the ultimate destination in this life— finding joy, even in the face of life's greatest challenges.