So recently I have gone to a fantastic and inspiring display of courage and honesty. Thus called TedxYouth Waterloo. The array of inspirational speakers were fantastic and the way the wonderful volunteers presented the event was perfection. Even though they faced several technical difficulties they managed to cover it up and gave us as the audience an experience of a lifetime.
The first performance consisted of an excellently dance really empowering home and showing that sometimes when you have something that you desire it doesn't make that, "home." Overall the technique and choreography were up to par and it was a fantastic and emotional performance captivating us the youth until the very end.
First to speak was Alicia Evans. she opened up TedX with a fantastic speech and it's always hard presenting first and basically opening the show. Although under all the pressure she didn't crack and presented a thoughtful and caring performance taking us on a tour of her life and of her mothers struggles.
Second was the beloved and adorable, shark warrior Madeline Cranston. Holy cow was this girl passionate about preserving the ocean. She is a one girl powerhouse speaker who can bring hilarity to the little mistakes and innocence she brings to the stage. Her speech was fresh and entertaining when she messed up a few times she laughed and made mistakes which made many like her even more because this gave her a more human and not perfect nature. Which made her more like able. Her performance was fantastic and I learned a lot about sharks and killer toasters! There is no doubt we'll be seeing this inspirational girl in the future making headlines. Keep an eye out for Madeline Cranston!
Third to speak was Holly Painter. This girl had a knack for captivating and giving the audience a ride of their life. She gave a great observation and introduced slam poetry into a lot of the youth in the audience like me. I had not heard about slam poetry but the way the words she recited in her poem about the Hunger games and internet bullying. She brought our whole society down on it's knees and made us rethink everything keeping us captivated to the powerful and breathtaking poem. In the end I have to say holly was one of my favourite's as not only was her performance captivating but she's also a, "gay." I'm not being biased about it. It's inspirational to see so many gay youth and citizens coming out of hiding and letting their voices be heard.
Fourth to speak was Andria Simone. She was absolutely cool and chill as my good friend Brandon Ferguson pointed out. She was a speaker who we can relate to. Her speech was moving and she talked aout her struggles in the environment she had been presented into. She did make the mistake to tell the audience to AVOID taking any anti-depressants. Her story was sad and moving and she did a fantastic job of presenting herself.
At lunch it amazed me how friendly every single person there was. Everyone would smile, talk and interact with each other. Even if they didn't know you. It was refreshing and great to see that we could feel welcomed by everyone. Thanks to everyone I had met, it was a pleasure to meet you and I hope to meet you again sometime!
The next speaker was an awesome guy named CaustanDe Riggs. The minute he stepped on the stage it was clear as day that he was having fun and wanted us to have fun too. He entertained us with his Eddie Murphy impressions and it was easy to tell that Caustan was a natural born performer. His lyrics in his rap were moving and he helped us see that anything is possible.
This next speaker was touching. His story and his struggles sent shivers down my spine. He brought this weight with him on stage and over the extroverted image our speaker, Richard Mclean, had brought all our thoughts and hearts to homeless citizens everywhere. He told us of his struggles and made our altered and tainted stereotype of homeless people turn on it's head. After his moving speech, I could tell many of us youth had been moved and now wanted and desired to make a change not only to help other but also for their own community.
These three next speakers are youth just like us. They had an idea and brought it to play and now need our help. Teodor Nikolov, Tibor Kovacs, and Brad Golding are just grade 11 students from Jacob Hespeler Secondary School. They created a group called project H.E.L.P and within this project they distributed food and necessities into the homeless population located in our very own community. They're speech was exciting and invigorating. They brought to the table what meany of us youth today are to afraid to do. They inspire others to make a difference.
Next, Alysha Brillinger stepped out onto the stage in a gorgeous one sleeved dress and not only spoke her mind while inspiring us, but also performed an exceptional song invigorating our experience to a whole new level. She brought to the stage a breathe of fresh air and confidence that made us all feel awesome. Her speech was fantastic and she brought to light many things about the music industry and their sexism.
Finally just before another break a group of students from the University Of Waterloo came up on stage and engaged us all their musical talents by performing songs that showed us how they thought chasing home really meant. Their singing was phenomenal and we can expect more from the University soon hopefully.
There was a small intermission here where the audience was allowed to get up stretch their legs and mingle, oh boy did we mingle. I met a bunch of people who were so kind and genuine. So many students just like me. Even if I didn't talk a stranger I walked past would smile. I would of course smile back and the energy and happiness that portruded off the theatre walls were contagious as it seemed a ton of students walked around and introduced themselves to people they have never met before. It was great!
The third last speaker was talented. Not only in the ways of cooking, and writing, but also by speaking to us about stereotypes. Shayma Saadat explained to us how stereotypes are just a one sided piece of a larger picture. She told us about cultural classics dishes. She helped us understand how food can help us find a home. She defined chasing home in a different light then many others and she was absolutely spot on in her insights.
The second last speaker, Syd Vanderpool is not only an inspiration on the ring, but also off. He talked about how we can never give up on our dreams and inspired us to be our best. He captivated us in his stories of training to be a boxer with three simple steps. He gave us a run for our money as he told us of the struggles he faced everyday while training. He inspired us to never give up and to follow our heart.
The last official speaker was Kelly Lovell. She talked to us about never giving up as well and to work hard on always trying to, "Chase home." She motivated us to try and try, even if we never succeed. She inspired many to do their best and try their hardest.
After Kelly we thought it was the end. It was not, finally the last speaker came on the stage. Her name being, Meaghan Kehoe. Although she wasn't an official speaker she spoke to us about never giving up. The reason she came onstage was for the fact that she was secretly painting images on to the sides of the letters that were placed onstage. She drew her own versions of what all the speakers portrayed as what chasing home meant to them. Her drawings were spectacular and visually appealing. She did an exceptional job. The paintings were then given as gifts back to the speakers for participating. Then it was time to go.
It was sad to go. mostly to the fact we had to say goodbye to all the friends we met, and the friendly atmosphere but I soon realized I know we're always together. We're always connected, through the Future Forums Program. So if you're reading this and you were at TedxYouth Waterloo. I hope you enjoyed yourself as much as I did and it's nice to see you again.
The first performance consisted of an excellently dance really empowering home and showing that sometimes when you have something that you desire it doesn't make that, "home." Overall the technique and choreography were up to par and it was a fantastic and emotional performance captivating us the youth until the very end.
First to speak was Alicia Evans. she opened up TedX with a fantastic speech and it's always hard presenting first and basically opening the show. Although under all the pressure she didn't crack and presented a thoughtful and caring performance taking us on a tour of her life and of her mothers struggles.
Second was the beloved and adorable, shark warrior Madeline Cranston. Holy cow was this girl passionate about preserving the ocean. She is a one girl powerhouse speaker who can bring hilarity to the little mistakes and innocence she brings to the stage. Her speech was fresh and entertaining when she messed up a few times she laughed and made mistakes which made many like her even more because this gave her a more human and not perfect nature. Which made her more like able. Her performance was fantastic and I learned a lot about sharks and killer toasters! There is no doubt we'll be seeing this inspirational girl in the future making headlines. Keep an eye out for Madeline Cranston!
Third to speak was Holly Painter. This girl had a knack for captivating and giving the audience a ride of their life. She gave a great observation and introduced slam poetry into a lot of the youth in the audience like me. I had not heard about slam poetry but the way the words she recited in her poem about the Hunger games and internet bullying. She brought our whole society down on it's knees and made us rethink everything keeping us captivated to the powerful and breathtaking poem. In the end I have to say holly was one of my favourite's as not only was her performance captivating but she's also a, "gay." I'm not being biased about it. It's inspirational to see so many gay youth and citizens coming out of hiding and letting their voices be heard.
Fourth to speak was Andria Simone. She was absolutely cool and chill as my good friend Brandon Ferguson pointed out. She was a speaker who we can relate to. Her speech was moving and she talked aout her struggles in the environment she had been presented into. She did make the mistake to tell the audience to AVOID taking any anti-depressants. Her story was sad and moving and she did a fantastic job of presenting herself.
At lunch it amazed me how friendly every single person there was. Everyone would smile, talk and interact with each other. Even if they didn't know you. It was refreshing and great to see that we could feel welcomed by everyone. Thanks to everyone I had met, it was a pleasure to meet you and I hope to meet you again sometime!
The next speaker was an awesome guy named CaustanDe Riggs. The minute he stepped on the stage it was clear as day that he was having fun and wanted us to have fun too. He entertained us with his Eddie Murphy impressions and it was easy to tell that Caustan was a natural born performer. His lyrics in his rap were moving and he helped us see that anything is possible.
This next speaker was touching. His story and his struggles sent shivers down my spine. He brought this weight with him on stage and over the extroverted image our speaker, Richard Mclean, had brought all our thoughts and hearts to homeless citizens everywhere. He told us of his struggles and made our altered and tainted stereotype of homeless people turn on it's head. After his moving speech, I could tell many of us youth had been moved and now wanted and desired to make a change not only to help other but also for their own community.
These three next speakers are youth just like us. They had an idea and brought it to play and now need our help. Teodor Nikolov, Tibor Kovacs, and Brad Golding are just grade 11 students from Jacob Hespeler Secondary School. They created a group called project H.E.L.P and within this project they distributed food and necessities into the homeless population located in our very own community. They're speech was exciting and invigorating. They brought to the table what meany of us youth today are to afraid to do. They inspire others to make a difference.
Next, Alysha Brillinger stepped out onto the stage in a gorgeous one sleeved dress and not only spoke her mind while inspiring us, but also performed an exceptional song invigorating our experience to a whole new level. She brought to the stage a breathe of fresh air and confidence that made us all feel awesome. Her speech was fantastic and she brought to light many things about the music industry and their sexism.
Finally just before another break a group of students from the University Of Waterloo came up on stage and engaged us all their musical talents by performing songs that showed us how they thought chasing home really meant. Their singing was phenomenal and we can expect more from the University soon hopefully.
There was a small intermission here where the audience was allowed to get up stretch their legs and mingle, oh boy did we mingle. I met a bunch of people who were so kind and genuine. So many students just like me. Even if I didn't talk a stranger I walked past would smile. I would of course smile back and the energy and happiness that portruded off the theatre walls were contagious as it seemed a ton of students walked around and introduced themselves to people they have never met before. It was great!
The third last speaker was talented. Not only in the ways of cooking, and writing, but also by speaking to us about stereotypes. Shayma Saadat explained to us how stereotypes are just a one sided piece of a larger picture. She told us about cultural classics dishes. She helped us understand how food can help us find a home. She defined chasing home in a different light then many others and she was absolutely spot on in her insights.
The second last speaker, Syd Vanderpool is not only an inspiration on the ring, but also off. He talked about how we can never give up on our dreams and inspired us to be our best. He captivated us in his stories of training to be a boxer with three simple steps. He gave us a run for our money as he told us of the struggles he faced everyday while training. He inspired us to never give up and to follow our heart.
The last official speaker was Kelly Lovell. She talked to us about never giving up as well and to work hard on always trying to, "Chase home." She motivated us to try and try, even if we never succeed. She inspired many to do their best and try their hardest.
After Kelly we thought it was the end. It was not, finally the last speaker came on the stage. Her name being, Meaghan Kehoe. Although she wasn't an official speaker she spoke to us about never giving up. The reason she came onstage was for the fact that she was secretly painting images on to the sides of the letters that were placed onstage. She drew her own versions of what all the speakers portrayed as what chasing home meant to them. Her drawings were spectacular and visually appealing. She did an exceptional job. The paintings were then given as gifts back to the speakers for participating. Then it was time to go.
It was sad to go. mostly to the fact we had to say goodbye to all the friends we met, and the friendly atmosphere but I soon realized I know we're always together. We're always connected, through the Future Forums Program. So if you're reading this and you were at TedxYouth Waterloo. I hope you enjoyed yourself as much as I did and it's nice to see you again.