The Bullied and Beautiful

Shane Koyczan’s passionate speech, “To This Day…for the Bullied and Beautiful”, is about the lasting battleground known as school. We always let others define who we are and what we can be. Adults will tell us we can’t be what we want to be and our peers will tell us that we are fat and ugly and weird. Follow your dreams no matter what people tell you, no matter how people define you. To get past these people you must stand up for yourself. But standing up for ourselves poses quite the challenge, because the honest truth is that names do hurt and those people do define us. Those words and bullies do make an impact on us. The truth is those things prevent us from following our dreams.The plague of bulling is a crucial issue in today’s society.  Kids like this don’t realized they are loved, and they go through hell twice a day. Bulling carries an influence far longer than just that day, it can last weeks or years or a lifetime. In order to survive attacks of verbal abuse you must believe that they are wrong. This way those dreams can come true. To many this is the most powerful weapon, and there is not much we can do about it. Shane Koyczan gives an emotionally prevailing performance about some of these bullied and beautiful in the point of view of one of them. Accompanied by violin and stellar graphics he stresses, through poetry, that sticks and stones can break bones but words can break hearts. However, you can’t go through life afraid of having your heart broken, and we should try not to break others’ hearts. For, you are far more than the names that you are called, so be an example for all those bullied and beautiful.

Awareness in Everyday Life

David Foster Wallace’s speech, “This Is Water”, is all about finding beauty in everyday routine and that we should be aware and consciously thinking in order to make that routine life different and magical. David flat out says that life after college is usually a boring cycle of day in and day out. We tend to think, in this lifestyle, that it’s all about us and that others are just there to get in the way. It is important to remember that everyone else is thinking like that too. Sometimes we forget than others are also experiencing this life, and they could be in a worse off position than you are. I took away I should always consider the possible reasons for behaviors before judging actions. We must be awake to our surroundings. We must actually think! Wallace brings up this essential insight: first, that real education has little to do with knowledge and more to do with awareness of not just life, but of new ideas; and second, we must live well while we are alive. The fish doesn’t know what water is until it jumps out of the bowl, so do we not know anything other than our particular reality until we become conscious of it. Within the working lifestyle, the common truth is everyone is miserable. You must rise above it by acknowledging that and accepting it- then you will see things in a whole new way. If you are not open-minded you will never experience the beauty and sacredness of life. Only you can decide how you see the world. Only you can find meaning in the everyday drone. By talking with humor and brutal honesty David Foster Wallace is able to portray this message in a meaningful way. This commencement speech was said in a professional, formal setting, but it is spoken as it is a one on one conversation, which helps apply this message to everyone. The message being that the fish must recognize he is in water to truly have a beautiful day.

The Paradox of Motivation

          In Dan Pink’s talk, “The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us”, new, culture-changing ideas are brought to light on how we can be more motivated without money. Dan Pink talks in such a fast-paced, enthusiastic manner one you can just trust, just by the way he speaks, that he is very intelligent and knows his stuff. He also talks is such a way that he appeals to the younger generation, using words like “lame” or “crappy”, which helps because they will be the ones to change the world. I found it interesting how Dan brought up that people with high rewards don’t necessarily work hardest or do the best; they actually do worse. People today just aren’t as motivated by money. Yet, if you don’t pay people enough at work they aren’t motivated though, so where is the balance? If money doesn’t lead to better performance what does? Pink brings up numerous, extraordinary ideas on how to motivate the workforce besides money. The first important idea is that people like to be self-directed and have free reign. People then tend to work better this way and are more engaged. The second is that it is human nature to get better at things – people are motivated to become better by instinct. This is such a basic, simple idea yet so revolutionary. Lastly, people want to find purpose in what they do, and if you can find purpose in your job, you are more motivated to go to work and succeed at whatever you do. Suddenly, your job becomes more of a pleasureful pastime. These motivation tactics not only work better, but they also carry more personal satisfaction. Ideas like this are ones businesses, teachers, parents, everyone should hold on to. It is true; people do need money, so Pink says to pay them the perfect amount that they don't focus on the money but rather on the work. Overall there is more to work than money and profit. Lots of businesses fail that way. There has got to be more motivation than that. Mr. Pink states that these new motivations will make us all better off. The world would just be better off with businesses not focused on greed, employees looking for purpose in everything they do, and even teachers teaching students with more motivation than just good grades. This speech is yet another example of a call for change, this time though in everything we do.

How Many Lives Can Be Lived?

Sarah Kay’s TEDtalk “How Many Lives Can You Live?” portrays the relatable message about how we humans can only be ourselves and that we can only go down one specific pathway in life. Sarah, like me, and hopefully others out there too, have never liked the fact that we can only be so many things in life and that we can only do so much in our limited time here. People like me and her have been frustrated that we are ourselves and can never be anyone else. It’s depressing for me to think that I will never experience what others have experienced. I am missing out on so much- the good and the bad. I can never be a veterinarian-actor-artist-superstar-President. There is sadly only a short time on this earth, and it is both a blessing and a curse that I can only be myself. Why can we only live one life and why can others not live a life like mine? Sarah Kay expresses these emotions though the unique communication form of poetry, song, and speech. With a stance of confidence, several hand motions, and inspiration in her eyes she explains that in her life she can be no one else but herself. Sadly, she cannot be the princess-ballerina-astronaut she has always wanted to be. We cannot be everything in the world (even regardless of race, gender, age, and time). It is important for us to remember that we must be the best we can be in the miniscule time we are here in this reality we call life. The key is to follow your true dreams. It is up to us to determine where to stop and who to be, like a poem. We should remember not to rush all the time. There is importance in storytelling, so make your story a one of a kind, crazy, beautiful masterpiece of a poem, a tale worth living. Don’t live someone else’s life- follow the light within you.

The Killing of Creativity

Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk speech, “How Schools Kill Creativity”, shares revolutionary, thought-provoking ideas about the future of education throughout the word. Through humor and a relaxed posture, Sir Ken Robinson was able to effectively grasp the audience an compel them to listen and address the topics at hand, which were brought to light through his personal stories and ones that were passed on to him. His personality definitely showed and got me hooked as well. The fast paced style of speaking makes his speech exciting and captivating and obviously well-informed. This comfortable, knowledgeable, and rather hilarious style of presentation really works for him and proves to be an excellent form of communication.

From Sir Robinson’s speech “How Schools Kill Creativity”, the purpose and message was clear: that creativity should be embraced and welcomed by our society and through schools especially, rather than being discouraged and suppressed. Currently, children are being raised and taught in a very left brained, logical manner. The world’s children are being told to draw within the lines, its bad to be wrong, and that math takes precedence over the arts, even though that is what makes them children, and to an extent even human. Since education is raising the future of humanity, it is vital that they focus on that extremely large portion of the human brain; children are the future so we must embrace the aspects of childhood, a large part of which is being creative. No one knows what the future holds, so how must we educate the world for the unknown? And, frankly, our modern education system was meant for a society that is long gone (that society being the Industrial Era). In today’s world everyone has a college degree, so that doesn’t make you special anymore and does not guarantee one a job anymore either. What makes you different is not being afraid to make mistakes and original thought- creativity. Children see the world for more than what is literally there; let us clasp onto that. It is important that the common man knows that a degree does not set him/her apart, that our children are not being brought up in the best possible way, and that intelligence does not always mean logic. People should also know that childhood is not a mental disorder – something that should be medicated, not to be afraid of failure, and the brain is for more than knowledge. “How schools Kill Creativity” by Sir Ken Robinson is a call to action to change all that. We must educate the world to embrace their whole being, and this is necessary for you and me to know in order to make the future of humanity a more beautiful one.