What a day I’ve had!

You know when you have one of those days that just….work? Everything seems appropriate and suddenly you’re re-enthused about life in general.

Well my today was exactly that.

The big day had finally come around…I was to share my TED talk about ‘Changing Perceptions – who you are can’t be defined by a number’

I will share a little secret with you…It was the most nervous I have ever been! I’ve never been so nervous before that I’ve felt myself becoming physically ill, but today showed me what that would feel like. The 40 minutes leading up to my entry were the most daunting and elongated moments of my life, however during that lapse of time I had some of the most thought provoking and interesting conversations with other key speakers.

A 19 year old girl, Catherine Mooleschot, who is passionate about inspiring young people to achieve their full potential, published her first book at age 13, attended multiple seminars during her VCE years, interviewed incredibly successful people, gave motivational speeches from the age of 17 and is now almost finished editing her second book. Oh and did I mention that she has her own business? INCREDIBLE!! I was so inspired by her and her love of life….the best part was how happy she was all the time, and how warmly she welcomed me despite never setting eyes on me before in her life.

Another lady I met was Dr. Fiona Lander. Having worked with the UN and WHO, she now works half the week as a Doctor, the other half as a Lawyer and is a human rights advocate in places like Afghanistan. Personally, what I loved most was her sense of humour! She was hilarious and wasn’t afraid of making jests about herself or situations, Her lighthearted and gentle humour really lightened the mood and made me feel much more comfortable with myself.

Interestingly enough, 5 minutes before I had to go on to open the event and give my speech, I felt this extraordinary sense of peace over me. It was a strange sensation, seeing as the 24 hours prior to that I’d basically been hyperventilating…but I suddenly realised that in this exact moment I am where I want to be.

Never had I thought that me, a 17 year old, would be giving a TED talk on the things that she is passionate about. Never had I thought I would meet such incredible people. Never had I thought people would be so interested to hear what I had to say.

As a result of this “mini-revelation” I was able to go onto that stage and speak from the heart, passionately and comfortably.

It was the fastest 8 minutes of my life!

I wanted to do it all again as soon as it was over, and thankfully I was able to stay and enjoy the other insanely wonderful speakers as well.

 

One thing I really took away from today’s experience was that “your future starts now”. You don’t have to wait for someone else to do it for you, because your future is unique. And so I am proud to tentatively announce that I’m reshaping this blog to something far more substantial and relevant.

I want my blog posts to be formed around inspiring young people to seek alternative ways of discovery and challenge, so that everyone has the opportunity to reap the most benefit out of their unique lives.

As I’m in year 12, it might be hard to keep up a steady post flow, however I really will endeavour to do so as much as humanly possible.

I hope that all of you out there reading this can be encouraged to take your future into your own hands and run with the ball vigorously *chuckles*….. I don’t know why that phrase made me laugh!

Please please continue to comment and send your feedback, because it is VITAL for me!!!

as always,

 

Alice

Some good news!

Hey everyone!
For those of you who may have read some of my earliest posts, they did include those around the topic of “learn through experience” – basically a concept that encourages people to develop their “emotional intelligences” during schooling so that their futures are much more inclusive of what they truly are capable of. It also supports the fact that school kids are (generally) able to retain information at a higher level if they are told to put it into action and actually be a part of something worthwhile.

Now..the interesting stuff begins!
Hopefully some of you have heard of TED talks – pretty much, its a global organisation that allows people to speak passionately on a topic of their own interest that is filmed and then broadcasted on their website (easily google-able). I have been fascinated with the concept for a little over a year since my english teacher, Mrs Luca, really introduced it to me and hence, introduced me to the world of blogging.

Interestingly enough, where I live, TED has decided to have a conference and were looking for a student to open the night with around a 10 minute talk on something they are passionate about. Mrs Luca e-mailed people from my school asking us to apply, and I eagerly did so..

Little did I know that my humble concept would be picked out of the hat, and that I would land an interview with this guy, Shane, who is organising the whole event.

I met with him yesterday over a coffee and we chatted about my idea, broadening it and making it a bit more concrete, and I am VERY pleased to say that I received a call this afternoon informing me that I have been successful and will in fact be speaking at this upcoming TED talk!!!

To be very honest, I’m ridiculously tired right now and haven’t had much sleep lately so I’m not really processing my excitement very much..but I’m sure that when I wake up tomorrow it will hit me!!

I will keep everyone who follows my blog informed about how the whole process goes, and hopefully seek some advice from people on the world of wordpress who I know are incredibly intriguing and inspiring.

 

Thanks to all those who believed in me!

Can’t wait!!

Alice

YOU are beautiful

There’s a healthy balance between wanting complements and needing complements. Of course, ladies, we try our very best to look nice, especially when trying to impress someone. Those are the times when we really hope someone will call us beautiful, because of our effort!

Other times, we can look at someone and think ‘She is so effortlessly beautiful…it’s not fair!’. This is unhealthy and dangerous. It draws the focus too closely onto ourselves and what our flaws are. In actual fact, portraying confidence and happiness with who you are, whether you’ve spent hours preparing for a fancy dinner or if you just got up out of bed, beauty is internal!

I know how it feels to think you’re not beautiful. I often catch myself with those thoughts and end up feeling dreadful about myself. It’s because I compare myself with others. “She gets complimented all the time and she doesn’t even realise how lucky she is!” “She doesn’t even try with her hair…I try really hard” etc etc

As you can see, that isn’t making me feel good at ALL. I am confident that every girl, no matter who they are, goes through these same thought processes every now and then.

But the main thing to remember is that it shouldn’t rely upon how many people compliment you or even the clothes that you wear. Material and external beauty is fleeting, as sad as it is to admit that. Miranda Kerr will not always look the way she does.

The bright side is that someone who practices happiness, kindness, grace, love and compassion will remain beautiful forever. Whether they’re 18 or 80, people will recognise something truly extraordinary within them, like a diamond in the water.

 

So…my friends…if you need to feel beautiful, you should. Because you are.

“Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one out there more youer than you!” – Dr. Seuss

And you ARE beautiful.

 

Always,

Alice