[Applause]
tell your story change the conversation
colonized by students TEDx youth at shc
when I was younger my mom told me that
if I ever found someone that I clicked
with someone I could trust
someone who would always be there for me
I should hold on to them and never let
them go and when I got older my parents
told me that when I went to high school
and none of my grade school friends went
with me I should hold on to them cuz
they’ll be friends
I would keep for life but what if I did
let them go or what if I let something
get in the way since the day Alex and I
met in kindergarten everyone expected
something of us we went to a small
school with about 60 kids in a grade so
we knew each other pretty well however
it wasn’t until the second grade when we
became best friends and from then on
everyone expected us to date or at least
like each other parents did teachers did
too I once had a teacher pull me aside
after recess and asked if I had a crush
on her hey don’t get me started on our
classmates and friends my basketball
teammates used to constantly asked me if
I’d Akash on Alex and when girls started
becoming a big deal because of hormones
whatnot guys would drill me about em and
that weirded us both out cuz we always
saw ourselves just as friends and
nothing more but they got the better of
us everyone constantly reassuring me oh
you love Alexander you just can’t see it
yet or you’re perfect for each other
just let Cupid do his thing made me
actually believe I had a crush on this
loser
no offense none taken
loser but I too began to feel like I
liked em around the fifth grade we
finally had enough and decided maybe we
should date and it all began with a
flirty conversation and it wasn’t what
you might call a smooth conversation
because we were only in the eighth grade
at the time remember how that went
how can I forget it was the most awkward
conversation I’ve ever had you’ve done
so much worse hey Alex
uh-huh yeah I have a crush on someone
guess who um I don’t know him
well he’s tall wears glasses and he’s
standing right next to me oh oh yeah
well uh huh
the feeling’s mutual we’re gonna spare
you guys the details on the rest of our
conversation cuz it just gets worse from
there but in short and when I quickly
became the coolest couple on campus
which was pretty easy because we’re the
only couple on campus and that is when
things started going south you see
unfortunately for us the coolest couple
on campus was coincidentally the most
Awkward couple on campus I’m what people
would call socially inept and Alex isn’t
exactly the smoothest guy out there
either I didn’t look at the way of
standing okay
to be honest I don’t exactly know how to
stand up here but back to us yeah we
went on a few dates and they were
actually pretty okay
like we had when we had a picnic at our
favorite spot or got lost on Muni and
bound up at Baker beach but I think the
first time I realized this was not gonna
work out
was at our eighth grade dance we were
excited we the most experienced couple
in the entire grade would finally show
ourselves off to our peers but in
retrospect we really should have seen it
coming as soon as we stepped onto the
dance floor everyone came up to us and
took pictures of us like we were some
kind of museum exhibit and to some
extent yeah I guess we should have liked
that attention but something didn’t
click but by far the worst moment of the
entire evening was when my friends
dragged me into the middle the dance
floor and my friends shoved me into it
and all 58 of our classmates surrounded
us singing Emily and Alex sitting in a
tree
is s ing and it was at that moment that
I didn’t feel like ends boyfriend
anymore I felt more like some kind of
prey shot by predators ready to tear me
or us apart I tried to break my way out
of the circle but they just pushed me
back in there singing got louder my
anxiety skyrocketed and I felt as if I
couldn’t breathe and you know how I
finally got out I grabbed em by the arm
swung her like a hammer at the wall
people and jumped free so there we were
the coolest couple on campus hiding in
the back of the dance hall awkwardly
dancing with each other and trying not
to let that traumatic experience ruin
the rest of our evening together however
it didn’t help that after the dance
teachers began to interrogate us on
exactly what we did back there
but please em you and that dress sorry I
remember exactly what you were she wore
black and purple stripes why did you
just ask me for help okay it was 2014
Alexander no one knew anything about
fashion
you look like an optical illusion
despite my horrendous fashion choice
choices plural
choice is something still didn’t feel
right I thought I’d enjoy the attention
I thought I’d have my fairytale moment
with my prince charming though you’re
not exactly what I’d call charming oh
please
but I too thought Oh like the spotlight
I mean it sounded great really fun
actually cuz everyone loved us but all
the spotlight did was shine a light on
the reality I wasn’t ready to confront
but you know what despite all these
warnings to stop Alex and I continued to
date maybe it was because we were afraid
to disappoint everyone how heartbroken
would everyone be if the coolest couple
on campus broke up or maybe we were too
afraid to lose each other but that’s
exactly what started to happen and when
I started treating each other more as
significant others and less as friends
and this became most obvious in of all
places our texts what it used to be
fully conversations about our passions
and aspirations turn into few worded
text every day hey hey have a great day
thanks you too love you love you too
night good night love you love you too
and that was it some cycle that would
repeat for months on end and it became
clearer to both of us that we were
losing not only the passion for the
relationship but for each other and
eventually as is continued we found that
enough was enough
On January 24th 2015 a year and ten days
after we broke up we broke up sorry I
meant to say a year in ten days after we
started these memories it fuzzy
I lost my best friend in the entire
world
I finally found someone I clicked with
someone I could trust
someone who would always be there for me
and I let him go and I let something get
in the way we used to always talk to and
confide in each other
but now we were silent for months and I
didn’t know how to make it better to
this day I’m not sure how Alex and I got
back on track maybe it was our mutual
friends or maybe it was her history
personally I think it’s cuz we started
having a ton of personal problems high
schoolers and we just wanted to read to
each other again what shocked me most
was after months of not speaking to each
other it didn’t take us very long to get
back on track don’t get me wrong we
worked hard to fix us we talked through
our problems inside and outside of our
relationship but to be completely honest
with you I think we just found something
deep within ourselves that convinced us
this was never gonna happen again
and after we got past all that things
started becoming normal again
so normal in fact we started to treat
our relationship like a joke a funny
messed-up joke Alex and I decided to
turn heartbreak into happiness every
year on the anniversary of her breakup
Alex and I instead celebrate our
friendship by recreating old dates and
every January 24th we text each other
happy breakup day let’s never date again
I agree this year and when I celebrate
10 years of friendship that’s right
after a horrendous relationship and
horrendous breakup we managed to
revitalize our friendship and if
anything we made it stronger were
practically family now time of parting
away from Alex made me realize how
important he is to me how lucky I am to
have him in my life yeah and as much as
I love to brag on em for her height her
personality her singing her dancing
that’s about as stiff as a wooden board
her messy room she hasn’t cleaned in
what five years and her mullet Olsen
tall you know what Alexander
maybe ten years of friendship is enough
for us and her constant interruptions
she’s still a wonderful person who has
helped shaped me into Who I am today
looking back we really shouldn’t have
dated but to be completely honest with
you I don’t regret a single moment we
learned firsthand what was really
important to us so who cared if the
coolest couple on campus didn’t get
married all the we cared about is we
didn’t let Sun break up separate us
forever when I was younger my mom told
me that if I found someone I clicked
with some I could trust someone who’d
always be there for me I should hold on
to them and never let them go and when I
got older my parents told me that when I
went to high school and none of my grade
school friends went with me I should
still keep in touch with them cuz
they’ll be friends I’d keep for life and
I promised myself even if things got
rough I would do anything and everything
to hold on to that someone special so to
date or not to date that might be the
question but to lose someone that you
really love or to hold on to a friend
for life that is not one happy 10 years
in it’s been great and here’s to many
more thank you
[Music]
[Applause]
tell your story change the conversation
colonized by students TEDx youth at shc
when I was younger my mom told me that
if I ever found someone that I clicked
with someone I could trust
someone who would always be there for me
I should hold on to them and never let
them go and when I got older my parents
told me that when I went to high school
and none of my grade school friends went
with me I should hold on to them cuz
they’ll be friends
I would keep for life but what if I did
let them go or what if I let something
get in the way since the day Alex and I
met in kindergarten everyone expected
something of us we went to a small
school with about 60 kids in a grade so
we knew each other pretty well however
it wasn’t until the second grade when we
became best friends and from then on
everyone expected us to date or at least
like each other parents did teachers did
too I once had a teacher pull me aside
after recess and asked if I had a crush
on her hey don’t get me started on our
classmates and friends my basketball
teammates used to constantly asked me if
I’d Akash on Alex and when girls started
becoming a big deal because of hormones
whatnot guys would drill me about em and
that weirded us both out cuz we always
saw ourselves just as friends and
nothing more but they got the better of
us everyone constantly reassuring me oh
you love Alexander you just can’t see it
yet or you’re perfect for each other
just let Cupid do his thing made me
actually believe I had a crush on this
loser
no offense none taken
loser but I too began to feel like I
liked em around the fifth grade we
finally had enough and decided maybe we
should date and it all began with a
flirty conversation and it wasn’t what
you might call a smooth conversation
because we were only in the eighth grade
at the time remember how that went
how can I forget it was the most awkward
conversation I’ve ever had you’ve done
so much worse hey Alex
uh-huh yeah I have a crush on someone
guess who um I don’t know him
well he’s tall wears glasses and he’s
standing right next to me oh oh yeah
well uh huh
the feeling’s mutual we’re gonna spare
you guys the details on the rest of our
conversation cuz it just gets worse from
there but in short and when I quickly
became the coolest couple on campus
which was pretty easy because we’re the
only couple on campus and that is when
things started going south you see
unfortunately for us the coolest couple
on campus was coincidentally the most
Awkward couple on campus I’m what people
would call socially inept and Alex isn’t
exactly the smoothest guy out there
either I didn’t look at the way of
standing okay
to be honest I don’t exactly know how to
stand up here but back to us yeah we
went on a few dates and they were
actually pretty okay
like we had when we had a picnic at our
favorite spot or got lost on Muni and
bound up at Baker beach but I think the
first time I realized this was not gonna
work out
was at our eighth grade dance we were
excited we the most experienced couple
in the entire grade would finally show
ourselves off to our peers but in
retrospect we really should have seen it
coming as soon as we stepped onto the
dance floor everyone came up to us and
took pictures of us like we were some
kind of museum exhibit and to some
extent yeah I guess we should have liked
that attention but something didn’t
click but by far the worst moment of the
entire evening was when my friends
dragged me into the middle the dance
floor and my friends shoved me into it
and all 58 of our classmates surrounded
us singing Emily and Alex sitting in a
tree
is s ing and it was at that moment that
I didn’t feel like ends boyfriend
anymore I felt more like some kind of
prey shot by predators ready to tear me
or us apart I tried to break my way out
of the circle but they just pushed me
back in there singing got louder my
anxiety skyrocketed and I felt as if I
couldn’t breathe and you know how I
finally got out I grabbed em by the arm
swung her like a hammer at the wall
people and jumped free so there we were
the coolest couple on campus hiding in
the back of the dance hall awkwardly
dancing with each other and trying not
to let that traumatic experience ruin
the rest of our evening together however
it didn’t help that after the dance
teachers began to interrogate us on
exactly what we did back there
but please em you and that dress sorry I
remember exactly what you were she wore
black and purple stripes why did you
just ask me for help okay it was 2014
Alexander no one knew anything about
fashion
you look like an optical illusion
despite my horrendous fashion choice
choices plural
choice is something still didn’t feel
right I thought I’d enjoy the attention
I thought I’d have my fairytale moment
with my prince charming though you’re
not exactly what I’d call charming oh
please
but I too thought Oh like the spotlight
I mean it sounded great really fun
actually cuz everyone loved us but all
the spotlight did was shine a light on
the reality I wasn’t ready to confront
but you know what despite all these
warnings to stop Alex and I continued to
date maybe it was because we were afraid
to disappoint everyone how heartbroken
would everyone be if the coolest couple
on campus broke up or maybe we were too
afraid to lose each other but that’s
exactly what started to happen and when
I started treating each other more as
significant others and less as friends
and this became most obvious in of all
places our texts what it used to be
fully conversations about our passions
and aspirations turn into few worded
text every day hey hey have a great day
thanks you too love you love you too
night good night love you love you too
and that was it some cycle that would
repeat for months on end and it became
clearer to both of us that we were
losing not only the passion for the
relationship but for each other and
eventually as is continued we found that
enough was enough
On January 24th 2015 a year and ten days
after we broke up we broke up sorry I
meant to say a year in ten days after we
started these memories it fuzzy
I lost my best friend in the entire
world
I finally found someone I clicked with
someone I could trust
someone who would always be there for me
and I let him go and I let something get
in the way we used to always talk to and
confide in each other
but now we were silent for months and I
didn’t know how to make it better to
this day I’m not sure how Alex and I got
back on track maybe it was our mutual
friends or maybe it was her history
personally I think it’s cuz we started
having a ton of personal problems high
schoolers and we just wanted to read to
each other again what shocked me most
was after months of not speaking to each
other it didn’t take us very long to get
back on track don’t get me wrong we
worked hard to fix us we talked through
our problems inside and outside of our
relationship but to be completely honest
with you I think we just found something
deep within ourselves that convinced us
this was never gonna happen again
and after we got past all that things
started becoming normal again
so normal in fact we started to treat
our relationship like a joke a funny
messed-up joke Alex and I decided to
turn heartbreak into happiness every
year on the anniversary of her breakup
Alex and I instead celebrate our
friendship by recreating old dates and
every January 24th we text each other
happy breakup day let’s never date again
I agree this year and when I celebrate
10 years of friendship that’s right
after a horrendous relationship and
horrendous breakup we managed to
revitalize our friendship and if
anything we made it stronger were
practically family now time of parting
away from Alex made me realize how
important he is to me how lucky I am to
have him in my life yeah and as much as
I love to brag on em for her height her
personality her singing her dancing
that’s about as stiff as a wooden board
her messy room she hasn’t cleaned in
what five years and her mullet Olsen
tall you know what Alexander
maybe ten years of friendship is enough
for us and her constant interruptions
she’s still a wonderful person who has
helped shaped me into Who I am today
looking back we really shouldn’t have
dated but to be completely honest with
you I don’t regret a single moment we
learned firsthand what was really
important to us so who cared if the
coolest couple on campus didn’t get
married all the we cared about is we
didn’t let Sun break up separate us
forever when I was younger my mom told
me that if I found someone I clicked
with some I could trust someone who’d
always be there for me I should hold on
to them and never let them go and when I
got older my parents told me that when I
went to high school and none of my grade
school friends went with me I should
still keep in touch with them cuz
they’ll be friends I’d keep for life and
I promised myself even if things got
rough I would do anything and everything
to hold on to that someone special so to
date or not to date that might be the
question but to lose someone that you
really love or to hold on to a friend
for life that is not one happy 10 years
in it’s been great and here’s to many
more thank you
[Music]
[Applause]
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