My First Ted Talk
I've never been good at speaking aloud about my feelings and/or emotions when it comes to things that make me happy or people that I love, which has gotten me in difficult situations in the past and even to this day. It makes me uncomfortable telling people things that are so intimate and dear to my heart, yet for some reason if I have a problem with someone I don't hold back. With that being said, I've never been scared of writing everything down in order to share it, so here we are. I am getting nervous at the thought of writing this all down because I want to express myself perfect, but I'll do my best.
If you're reading this then that means I've decided to share this very personal side of my life with many more people than before. I'm scared, but excited about this journey so please be kind. I am by no means a pro, I just write as I think. If you want some high quality pieces, than I am sorry but I don't write like that. And if you could care less about my stories and opinions, then I don't expect you to follow me on my journey either. BUT if you are interested, than I promise to do my best to be as transparent as possible, and honest about everything I write. You can check out my previous posts if they look interesting, or you're curious as well. Now here we go...
Thoughts Before the Event
Let's make it clear from the start. No am I not speaking at this Ted Talk, but I am attending my first Ted Talk. It's part of an affiliate group with my University to spark conversation in my community. I was not apart of the organization of the event, but I am attending as a guest. If you want to learn more about Tedx, check out their website.
Honestly, I don't have many expectations. I'm excited to hear what the speakers have to say about the topics they will cover, but am not expecting to be blown away or have any sort of epiphany during the event day. I'd always watched Youtube videos about Tedx Conferences around the world, with a couple speakers' topics peaking my interests but that's it. I guess in all I'm hoping I learn something about myself, or the people around me, that I never noticed or had realized before. I'm hoping at least one of these speakers is able to get me to think differently, or in a different light, about something in my life, whatever that may be. I just want to leave the day feeling accomplished and as though I took something from the experience. Meeting interesting people could also be a possibility, but if I am being true to myself I don't think I'll be doing much mingling. I am not capable of expressing my thought and emotions properly in the moment. Hence why this blog exists, I am much better at internalizing my thoughts and writing them down later in paragraphs and pages of words. (oh the foreshadowing!)
After the event I'll give my final thoughts update.
Thoughts After the Event
Yesterday was an incredible (long but fun) day! These kinds of events are known for being inspirational, and that is exactly what happened, at least for me.
(if you want to skip to the real emotional stuff, skip to Speakers).
Food
Soooo good! There were I think 6 options for people with all different tastes and dietary needs which I love! The portions were big, but perfect! It was also served in a way that kept in mind that we would have to eat standing up (aka no food where you needed to both hands to eat) which I really appreciated.
Performers
OMG! Three different performers, from three completely different genres and it was perfect! The first being a music student mixing his love for violin who composed a song with his first-hand recording of birds noises and chirps. Really cool! The second, a brother/sister rapper duo doing what they love and spreading their thoughts through hip-hop and (a little bit of) comedy. The last, a company of dancers with performers ranging from ages of 7-30 (if I remember correctly). Their love and passion of dance was imminent and just beautiful to watch as they told the story of dichotomy between a child's life in a 1st versus a 3rd world country.
Accessibility
With the venue being a 5 min walk from the nearest subway station everything was within prime radius. So when our 1h30min lunch break came, I was able to walk around the city a little to grab coffee at a coffee shop and stop at the bank too! Plus the fact that it was a beautiful spring day made the afternoon walk even more enjoyable!
Time Management
The talks were organized really well in my opinion where we have a break every 1 or 1h30min or so to stretch our legs and grab some snacks. So we had 3 of these breaks (including lunch) and it was great because sitting down and trying to stay engaged with the speakers for even 2hrs would have been really difficult. Honestly, by the last break before the last stretch of speakers, I was REALLY feeling tired and didn't know if I could make it through, but the break definitely helped to walk around and re-charge!
Atmosphere
I was honestly very surprised at the diversity in people at the event. I know Toronto is a multicultural city, but that's not what I am talking about. There we so many different groups of people from people going solo, to groups of friends, couples and even entire families! All ranged from any age imaginable! Thinking back, alot of those people on the outer ends of the typical demographic (considering it was a University run event) were probably family of the speakers going as support, otherwise the mix of people was surprising, but in the best way. Everyone was ultimately there (I hope) to open their minds to new ideas and ideologies, and it was a great environment to be in.
Friendliness
I didn't really get to speak to many people who ran the event, but the few I did interact with at the box office, to pick up my goodie-bag and ticket and just those who where greeters when I first walked in were really friendly and I could tell they were having a lot of fun running the event. I noticed a couple times how close of friends they all were which was really great to see too! They had worked so hard to make the event possible and they did an amazing job!
Speakers
Either you've skipped the beginning to get here, or you've actually read what I had to say about the event yesterday. Either way, who cares. You're here now so let's get into it. Out of the 12 speakers, only 2 really hit home for me. The first was a young woman defending herself as to why she believes Canada is NOT the perfect country everyone paints it to be. It has and continues to treat the people that founded the land, the indigenous people, but the indigenous woman in general, poorly and with such disrespect.
She obviously has a lot of public speaking in her resume because she captivated me in every single word she said and made me think, and then proceeded to call me out on my thoughts that I didn't even realize I was having. Sounds epic and confusing but she zeroed in on my, and most people's, assumptions and convinced me to rethink the way I think. Again kind of confusing but to narrow this down, I realized that Canada is not a perfect country. We are doing, and ignoring, alot of bad things that the government is leading because it doesn't directly impact us. I've never been exposed to indigenous life, nor do I think I will honestly ever be, because what I gathered from her talk is that helping indigenous people, though it would be great because they need the help, is not the only problem. I, personally, want to help people, but politics and legislation is not my cup of tea. It's someone else's, but not mine, at least not today. But I DO want to help people, and that's why I got into engineering. I want to solve people's problems in their everyday lives and make their lives, and everyone around us' life easier and better. She reminded of me that at a time when I was questioning if I chose the right field. Which leads me perfectly to the second speaker.
Engineer by day, Comedian by night. Or the other way around depending on the day, is what the second speaker spends her time doing and loving. Her talk centered around people pleasing and how to find out if we are "people-pleasers". I thought I knew where this talk was going; Mixing in jokes about always saying "yes" to people around you, without considering the recuperation in your life and how she over came that. And that was what her talk was about but I didn't expect to connect with her on such a deep level.
She's an engineer, just like what I am graduating to become, but she had this creative side that was trapped inside and she couldn't let free at school or in her engineering work. Oh. My. God. That is exactly where this blog steamed from, for me. Then she talks about keeping it a secret from her parents because she doesn't want to disappoint them, or have them judge her for doing something with her life that isn't "practical". Hey! That's me! My parents have no idea I've been writing this blog for 3 months. It's been my little secret out of embarrassment. She continues on with other anecdotes about imagining what her future kids would ask if they found out she "almost" became a comedian and she didn't want her answer to be "I was scared" or "my parents didn't want me to" or " I don't know...". Man I felt that!
She finished her talk by saying she basically pushed all other people's opinions aside and did what she want to do, because she wanted to do it and loved it. And now, in her words "is killing it in TWO male dominated fields!" OMFG. She got me. Right then and there... "why can't I do both?", I thought to myself. Why can't I write and be creative AND be an engineer?! I always thought I had to choose one! But if I love both, why not do both?! It doesn't mean I have to be the best at either of them. I just want to do the things I love, and I always thought that by choosing engineering, I was pushing away that side of me that wanted to be creative. I think deep down I knew I could do both and I didn't have to choose, but Salma Hindy taught me that my life has no limits. I shouldn't I feel constraint in a job or scared about talking or doing what makes me happy. So I don't want to hide this part of my life anymore.
So hi! My name is Marie and I am a student, pursuing a degree in Civil Engineering, but I am also an artist. I love to take pictures, write and paint. Hopefully, soon, I will share more of that with you. And hopefully you will be there to support me, or just follow me in my journey as I try to inspire you to find and do, or continue to do, the things you love.
xoxo
Marie
If you're reading this then that means I've decided to share this very personal side of my life with many more people than before. I'm scared, but excited about this journey so please be kind. I am by no means a pro, I just write as I think. If you want some high quality pieces, than I am sorry but I don't write like that. And if you could care less about my stories and opinions, then I don't expect you to follow me on my journey either. BUT if you are interested, than I promise to do my best to be as transparent as possible, and honest about everything I write. You can check out my previous posts if they look interesting, or you're curious as well. Now here we go...
Thoughts Before the Event
Let's make it clear from the start. No am I not speaking at this Ted Talk, but I am attending my first Ted Talk. It's part of an affiliate group with my University to spark conversation in my community. I was not apart of the organization of the event, but I am attending as a guest. If you want to learn more about Tedx, check out their website.
Honestly, I don't have many expectations. I'm excited to hear what the speakers have to say about the topics they will cover, but am not expecting to be blown away or have any sort of epiphany during the event day. I'd always watched Youtube videos about Tedx Conferences around the world, with a couple speakers' topics peaking my interests but that's it. I guess in all I'm hoping I learn something about myself, or the people around me, that I never noticed or had realized before. I'm hoping at least one of these speakers is able to get me to think differently, or in a different light, about something in my life, whatever that may be. I just want to leave the day feeling accomplished and as though I took something from the experience. Meeting interesting people could also be a possibility, but if I am being true to myself I don't think I'll be doing much mingling. I am not capable of expressing my thought and emotions properly in the moment. Hence why this blog exists, I am much better at internalizing my thoughts and writing them down later in paragraphs and pages of words. (oh the foreshadowing!)
After the event I'll give my final thoughts update.
Thoughts After the Event
Yesterday was an incredible (long but fun) day! These kinds of events are known for being inspirational, and that is exactly what happened, at least for me.
(if you want to skip to the real emotional stuff, skip to Speakers).
Food
Soooo good! There were I think 6 options for people with all different tastes and dietary needs which I love! The portions were big, but perfect! It was also served in a way that kept in mind that we would have to eat standing up (aka no food where you needed to both hands to eat) which I really appreciated.
Performers
OMG! Three different performers, from three completely different genres and it was perfect! The first being a music student mixing his love for violin who composed a song with his first-hand recording of birds noises and chirps. Really cool! The second, a brother/sister rapper duo doing what they love and spreading their thoughts through hip-hop and (a little bit of) comedy. The last, a company of dancers with performers ranging from ages of 7-30 (if I remember correctly). Their love and passion of dance was imminent and just beautiful to watch as they told the story of dichotomy between a child's life in a 1st versus a 3rd world country.
Accessibility
With the venue being a 5 min walk from the nearest subway station everything was within prime radius. So when our 1h30min lunch break came, I was able to walk around the city a little to grab coffee at a coffee shop and stop at the bank too! Plus the fact that it was a beautiful spring day made the afternoon walk even more enjoyable!
Time Management
The talks were organized really well in my opinion where we have a break every 1 or 1h30min or so to stretch our legs and grab some snacks. So we had 3 of these breaks (including lunch) and it was great because sitting down and trying to stay engaged with the speakers for even 2hrs would have been really difficult. Honestly, by the last break before the last stretch of speakers, I was REALLY feeling tired and didn't know if I could make it through, but the break definitely helped to walk around and re-charge!
Atmosphere
I was honestly very surprised at the diversity in people at the event. I know Toronto is a multicultural city, but that's not what I am talking about. There we so many different groups of people from people going solo, to groups of friends, couples and even entire families! All ranged from any age imaginable! Thinking back, alot of those people on the outer ends of the typical demographic (considering it was a University run event) were probably family of the speakers going as support, otherwise the mix of people was surprising, but in the best way. Everyone was ultimately there (I hope) to open their minds to new ideas and ideologies, and it was a great environment to be in.
Friendliness
I didn't really get to speak to many people who ran the event, but the few I did interact with at the box office, to pick up my goodie-bag and ticket and just those who where greeters when I first walked in were really friendly and I could tell they were having a lot of fun running the event. I noticed a couple times how close of friends they all were which was really great to see too! They had worked so hard to make the event possible and they did an amazing job!
Speakers
Either you've skipped the beginning to get here, or you've actually read what I had to say about the event yesterday. Either way, who cares. You're here now so let's get into it. Out of the 12 speakers, only 2 really hit home for me. The first was a young woman defending herself as to why she believes Canada is NOT the perfect country everyone paints it to be. It has and continues to treat the people that founded the land, the indigenous people, but the indigenous woman in general, poorly and with such disrespect.
She obviously has a lot of public speaking in her resume because she captivated me in every single word she said and made me think, and then proceeded to call me out on my thoughts that I didn't even realize I was having. Sounds epic and confusing but she zeroed in on my, and most people's, assumptions and convinced me to rethink the way I think. Again kind of confusing but to narrow this down, I realized that Canada is not a perfect country. We are doing, and ignoring, alot of bad things that the government is leading because it doesn't directly impact us. I've never been exposed to indigenous life, nor do I think I will honestly ever be, because what I gathered from her talk is that helping indigenous people, though it would be great because they need the help, is not the only problem. I, personally, want to help people, but politics and legislation is not my cup of tea. It's someone else's, but not mine, at least not today. But I DO want to help people, and that's why I got into engineering. I want to solve people's problems in their everyday lives and make their lives, and everyone around us' life easier and better. She reminded of me that at a time when I was questioning if I chose the right field. Which leads me perfectly to the second speaker.
Engineer by day, Comedian by night. Or the other way around depending on the day, is what the second speaker spends her time doing and loving. Her talk centered around people pleasing and how to find out if we are "people-pleasers". I thought I knew where this talk was going; Mixing in jokes about always saying "yes" to people around you, without considering the recuperation in your life and how she over came that. And that was what her talk was about but I didn't expect to connect with her on such a deep level.
She's an engineer, just like what I am graduating to become, but she had this creative side that was trapped inside and she couldn't let free at school or in her engineering work. Oh. My. God. That is exactly where this blog steamed from, for me. Then she talks about keeping it a secret from her parents because she doesn't want to disappoint them, or have them judge her for doing something with her life that isn't "practical". Hey! That's me! My parents have no idea I've been writing this blog for 3 months. It's been my little secret out of embarrassment. She continues on with other anecdotes about imagining what her future kids would ask if they found out she "almost" became a comedian and she didn't want her answer to be "I was scared" or "my parents didn't want me to" or " I don't know...". Man I felt that!
She finished her talk by saying she basically pushed all other people's opinions aside and did what she want to do, because she wanted to do it and loved it. And now, in her words "is killing it in TWO male dominated fields!" OMFG. She got me. Right then and there... "why can't I do both?", I thought to myself. Why can't I write and be creative AND be an engineer?! I always thought I had to choose one! But if I love both, why not do both?! It doesn't mean I have to be the best at either of them. I just want to do the things I love, and I always thought that by choosing engineering, I was pushing away that side of me that wanted to be creative. I think deep down I knew I could do both and I didn't have to choose, but Salma Hindy taught me that my life has no limits. I shouldn't I feel constraint in a job or scared about talking or doing what makes me happy. So I don't want to hide this part of my life anymore.
So hi! My name is Marie and I am a student, pursuing a degree in Civil Engineering, but I am also an artist. I love to take pictures, write and paint. Hopefully, soon, I will share more of that with you. And hopefully you will be there to support me, or just follow me in my journey as I try to inspire you to find and do, or continue to do, the things you love.
xoxo
Marie
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