probably woke up to the same obnoxious
buzzing and chirping sounds that are
designed to calmly wake you up from that
moment on a million different thoughts
are rushing through your mind spanning
from what you should wear or eat all the
way to planning your day ahead but did
you stop to think to yourselves did I
remember to say I love you to my
reflection did I remember to assure
myself that no matter what today would
be a great day now many would argue that
talking to yourself let alone talking to
your own reflection is something only
crazy people do but stop and ask
yourselves these simple questions now do
I love myself
for who I really am including my
imperfections did I wake up with a
positive mindset and the determination
to make it through the day
sadly I would guess this is the first
time any of you are asking yourselves
these questions and what is even more
upsetting is the fact that you have
probably grown up believing that it’s
normal to wake up in an unpleasant mood
of course there are days where giving up
seems like the best option but going to
bed knowing that you have conquered
life’s toughest challenges is the most
rewarding feeling in the world
especially when you acknowledge this
happiness you relieve your mind and body
of all the things that made your day
feel overwhelmed by negativity but what
if you could feel this way every day
what if you could always see the
positive outcomes even after battling
life’s hardships sadly there’s no
self-help book medications or sparknotes
readily available to make you a better
person in just a short amount of days
the reality of it all is this happiness
is a way of life that takes time and
effort and it all begins with you
it’s important to note that with
everything else in life starting with
the smaller details first allows you to
create a greater final product for me I
started with the easiest and most
contagious way to spread joy smiling it
may sound kind of silly but starting off
your morning with this simple gesture
can boost your mood almost instantly and
no I’m not talking about a small grin
that you fake in pictures I mean an
honest and genuine smile that could
light up a room
you know the one that radiates from your
face when you get the last shirt in your
size at the store or when you receive a
gift that’s perfectly wrapped up with a
bow on top or when you drop your phone
screen down and it miraculously doesn’t
shatter oh and did you also know that
smiling is a universal language tool
think about it don’t we all smile in the
same language to help you understand
this better imagine that you’re on a
vacation in Spain except there’s no
translator with you nothing around you
is translated and the extent of your
spanish-speaking knowledge is your Taco
Bell order so what do you do you
hesitantly approach the first person
that you see to ask for help or
directions something and with just your
luck they are willing to help you in the
easiest way possible
you probably didn’t understand
everything that they said but when they
were finished did you smile and say
thank you or muchos garcia they surely
didn’t understand your butchered Spanish
either but from your smile they knew
that you were grateful and appreciative
of their help therefore not too smiling
just omit all the round positive
feelings but it can speak a million
different languages all at once another
idea is one that we hear from preachers
and motivational speakers alike stop
allowing negative
energies to be a part of your life we
don’t realize it but sometimes we open
ourselves up like a book and are
defenseless against the cruelties of the
world what we also don’t realize is that
these energies come in multiple
different forms with the worst one being
our conscience in a perfect world we all
imagine our conscience is to be like
Jiminy Cricket from Pinocchio a happy
little man who always watches out for us
to make the best decisions but sometimes
this little man is over casted by the
giant magazine titles that grab our
attention such as how to shred twenty
pounds in one week or this pill could
end your weight loss struggle and let’s
not forget to mention that these
magazines are covered with beautiful
models who all have a perfect muscle
tone a glowing tan and are standing next
to a 300-pound photo of themselves from
two years ago now obviously I’m not
shaming anyone who has ever benefited
from these programs but what they don’t
tell you is that your body is wonderful
the way that it is just because that
model wears a small and you struggle to
fit into a medium does not mean that you
have to lose weight in order to feel
beautiful in your own skin your body is
a masterpiece of its own appreciate your
stretch marks and your curves oppose the
idea that your weight defines the
content of your character and most of
all never let anyone destroy the love
you have for yourself the last topic I
would like to discuss with you all this
evening is the most challenging not
because it requires a lot of work but
because it is what someone needs to do
the most in order to live a happy
lifestyle be the light in a world
surrounded by darkness depression
according to the National Health
Organization is responsible for
affecting 350 million people a year and
of these 350 million
1 million will successfully commit
suicide these numbers may seem small
next to the current and growing world
population of around 7 billion but these
small numbers are only going to increase
if we don’t do anything about it look
around it the people sitting in this
room go ahead look around for a few
seconds some of these people you might
know like family or friends even
co-workers but others are complete
strangers and unless you live with these
new or unfamiliar faces you have no idea
what is going on in their life right now
even I couldn’t tell you that man
sitting next to you might feel
self-conscious about the way his suit
fits him complement him he will remember
what you said every time he wears that
outfit and he will never question the
way that he looks again the woman
sitting behind you she may feel anxious
because she doesn’t know anybody here
introduce yourself she could be the next
Bill Gates or Steve Jobs in need of a
secretary with great social skills let’s
think broader for a moment that person
that you just passed holding a sign
asking for money could be contemplating
jumping off a bridge tomorrow to end
their suffering donate to them you could
save a life with a single penny these
things seem so simple right but how many
of you will be courageous and brave
enough to break the barriers of your own
shyness in order to do something kind
for someone sadly this is another
statistic that I believe would come out
too low numbers but why exactly the
world has created a bubble of Darkness
around every single one of us that makes
us believe that our small acts of
charity make no effect on a person’s
life
but believe me when I say that they do
not only are you positively impacting
someone’s life but you are spreading
your light to the world that everyone
deserves to see and although your light
alone cannot defeat the forces of
depression you are making the world a
happier a more compassionate place one
person at a time before I allow the next
speaker to come on stage I would like to
give you all some insight as to why I
decided to speak about a topic that we
hear about so often yet never really
talk about I am blessed to say that I
have received one of the greatest honors
in the world being told that I am
perfect my family my life my friends
everything about me is perfect but to
those who Envy me I ask you to take a
step back and look at who I really am on
the outside I’m just a normal teenager
with hopes and dreams and the
aspirations to one day be successful but
on the inside I am fighting my own
battles I was born with selective mutism
a childhood anxiety disorder that causes
my inability to speak in select social
settings such as this and it causes me
to be filled with timidness
and shyness this disease left me alone
and friendless for a majority of my life
leading up until about middle school and
I have been told by multiple doctors and
specialists that this disease could
trigger by the time I leave for college
but I do not let this small possibility
rule my life I do not want and in
growing I have learned to live my life
to the fullest I know how it feels to be
the weird kid of the class I know how it
feels to be the extra large standing in
a line of smalls I know how it feels to
some days wake up and regret ever seeing
the light of day
I know how it feels to be like all of
you sitting and listening to someone
talk about how to make my life better
but losing hope that I could ever one
day reach eternal happiness so to those
who believe I was born without flaws I
am not perfect I am enough and to those
who wish to embark upon the same journey
that I did I will tell you right now
that it will not be easy
you will meet challenges along the road
that will try to hold you back you will
struggle and you will fall and sometimes
you may fall harder than you expect but
in the end you will get up and you will
grow and your light will grow brighter
and brighter with each seizing moment
finally I leave you all with a quote
from one of my favorite Broadway
actresses that serves as a reminder that
no matter how dark or depressing or
difficult life may seem you should
always be aware of the fact that you are
enough
you are so enough it’s unbelievable how enough you are thank you