I admire Rachel Liang(梁文音)'s strength so much.

I have so many ideas for new blogposts that I have put aside for later because I am just too dang lazy. But I just had to write this one, right here, right now, before I go to sleep. I want to capture these raw emotions right now before they are watered down by waves of drowsiness.

I just finished watching a charity event, on Taiwanese TV that was raising money to help those in need after the horrible Typhoon Morakot, the worst typhoon to hit Taiwan in the last 50 years. Viewers called in to donate money to the Red Cross, and tons of celebrities came to take phone calls and perform.


The host, asked Rachel Liang, who was taking phone calls to stop for a little while and chat. Because the typhoon did a lot of damage in Southern Taiwan, and because that area is home to a lot of Taiwan's aboriginal people (原住民), most of the aboriginal celebrities on the show were asked about the well-being of their families. Rachel Liang, who is a Taiwanese aborigine of the Rukai tribe, was asked this question too, and it was revealed, not by her, but by the host to the viewers, that the graves of Rachel Liang's parents located by the riverside in her hometown are now gone. The camera switched to a closeup of Rachel's face, and we could see that there were tears in her eyes.

Now this alone I find heartbreaking. But for those who don't know it, I think I need to write a bit about her parents. Rachel's father died in a gas explosion accident at work when she was 10. Her alcoholic mother was not very capable of taking care of her and her siblings, so Rachel often lived with others. Her mother then died when Rachel was 12, and she and her siblings were left to grow up in an orphanage.

So when I heard what had happened to the graves of her parents, which she had visited every Mothers' and Fathers' Day even after she broke into the entertainment industry, I started tearing up.

The thing that made me notice Rachel Liang was the MV of her single 最幸福的事 (Zui Xing Fu De Shi). The storyline is so beautiful, as is her voice, and the first time I saw it while watching MTV, I cried. I just watched it again, and yeah I teared up again. And I don't cry very easily, don't get me wrong. This is some strong stuff.



At the end, on the phone, Rachel Liang says: "Dad, Mom, how are you? I've grown up already. Can you hear my voice now? Being able to become your daughter, is the most happiest thing to me."

That just kills me.

I know 梁文音's parents would be SO proud of their daughter, and who she has grown up to be. She is so beautiful inside and out.