Ted Talk - 5/30

 Hi everyone! In honor of the coming presentation deadline, I am posting my script :).

The True Power of Our Pasts

Take a second to imagine a distinct childhood memory. Reach into the depths of your mind and remember that one moment where you fell flat on your face when learning how to kick a soccer ball. Or maybe you sat in an airplane with your baby sibling and listened to her wail endlessly for the entire journey. All of us are made of childhoods. What we liked to do, how we interacted with others, what we got in trouble for. Even the very early years; most of us don’t remember our first two or three years of life, but our earliest experiences tend to stick with us and influence our actions into adulthood. A study published in Childhood Development found that the environments kids were raised in still has an effect on their lives 20 to 30 years later. Kids raised in supportive and caring environments tended to do better on standardized tests, and were more likely to better get along with their peers. We all know our five-year-old selves don’t pick and choose our choices. We do—now! So why does this matter anyway? Is it actually relevant to everyone?

My childhood consisted of a multitude of interests. Around the ages of 6, 7, and 8, I fell in love with this site. Founded by MIT, Scratch is a coding program designed for young children and teens. Users can create projects, including games and animated videos. I remember spending hours holed up in my room drawing and creating animations. This was so important to me at that time, but after a while, I grew, became bored, and eventually stopped. In fact, the thought hadn’t even crossed my mind… until…

Fast forward to March of 2021. When pondering upon a topic to learn, my very past passion of animating tumbled into my mind. It seemed like the perfect solution to learn something new! Why force a completely new idea, when I can work on what is already ingrained in muscle memory.

Still, it wasn’t that simple, not even close. Sure, week one was great! I immersed myself in relearning animations. The simplicity and directness of individual movements—such as walking, jumping, and blinking—were easy enough to understand. I felt… comfortable, if that’s a good way to put it. In control, exactly like I was 7 years ago.

Then along came week two. The number two is notorious. Ever heard the phrase ‘second is the first to lose’? Well, I can personally confirm this is true. I continued to work on my week one efforts, but by this time, I was exhausted. Instead of excitement and curiosity, my brain had connected animating with tediousness and mediocre products. I knew that I needed to switch things up. There was no way I could continue on this path, even if I progressed from simple movements to more complex ones.

I needed the Scratch of 15-year-old me, not 8-year-old me. So, I thought. What is the one technology I could waste hours and not tire? The answer lied in my phone. TikTok!! Now, don’t cringe at that word. It is possible to find animations on TikTok. In fact, that’s me! These types of videos, where the creator plays a role on screen, seemed to spark my curiosity. Finally! The pieces clicked together and I could put all those hours of work into a finished product that I was proud of. Somehow, the tediousness and mediocrity of animating turned into something completely different.

Now, 8-year-old me would have been shocked that I changed my style. For two years, animating had been my primary source of entertainment. And I still enjoy it now! All that work seems to have a purpose yet again, despite the finish product being slightly… okay—much—different.

At the beginning, I wanted to pick up where I left off, not start over and find something new that I enjoyed doing. My actions in the past—my childhood—thought it knew what was best for me, so I followed its directions. But these directions were not written for the present.

Your past experiences do make you up, yes. Use them to your advantage! But don’t over use them, or you will tire and end up unhappy. Your mind will twist and turn in every direction to continue on the same path it has been on for many years. It is your job, however, to stray from that path and forge a new one.

Thank you!

ALSO!! Here is the YouTube link to my presentation 😨