you
[Music]
I have a confession to make I spent more
time in choosing this dress than
rehearsing for the TEDx talk which is
something that I deeply regret right now
then so yeah I was not thinking about it
but see I don’t have too many chances of
wearing a gown here in the states in
Colombia especially and so you know I
just wanted to emphasize this important
moment and because this is recorded I
wanted to show my mother that I am able
to wear high heels it’s just that they
are usually next to me not on me
so anyway mom I did it so um another
reason why I’m here is because I am very
very bad at public speaking I don’t like
it and I think most of us don’t so as
any mentally sane person who hates
public speaking you go and apply for a
TEDx top right because that’s what you
do so I’m really sorry virtually for
that um so as you can see I have notes
here because I’m incapable of memorizing
a ten minute speech and I have sweaty
palms and I didn’t sleep last night
and I’m pretty sure I’m gonna faint or
slip or fall or anything in between but
there is me besides all these things I
do have or I hope I have an idea we’re
spreading and this is one of the reason
why I apply for this TEDx talk because I
think citizenship is not as important as
we all like to think sometimes see I am
NOT an American citizen no surprises
there
but do I want to be one I’m not really
sure see it might be easier to get
around might be easier to get a job here
without heavy recruiters asking me how
long can you stay when are you going
home why don’t you have the proper
documents and what I mean I am legal but
I don’t have it I’m not a resident I
could start a real savings account the
type of account where you don’t add
every penny you save – just in case you
need to start your life all over again
someplace else I could have a real
housing contract the type of contract
that expires in more than three months
that would allow me to get furniture and
decorate a place of my own and not wait
to be kicked out
I could not live my life in a suitcase
and I could not I could buy stuff
without throwing them away in like 3-4
months I could get a dog I always wanted
to get a dog you know those creatures
that need you for longer than three
months I know
piñon quite a pain um I could start a
college fund for my future kids hey I
want to send my kids to Harvard too okay
and I need to start saving for that I
could not get stuck in this heavy
bureaucracy and I could plan for buying
you know my house part of the American
dream with an ocean view or a lake view
and instead of freaking out on my couch
every single night about what I’m going
to do with my life next I could actually
Google recipes or brownies or apple pies
or plan my next Thanksgiving dinner or
any other things that are so common for
you here that for me are quite a
challenge see I don’t know if any of
those things will happen for me here
heck I don’t even know if any of those
things will happen for me at all but do
I feel less of a citizen here now I
don’t you can see I’ve been living in
the United States for two years now and
you all have created a new home for me
if in my definition of home has changed
because of you prior to coming here I
have lived 28 years in my home country
of Romania a country in Eastern Europe
and I came here because at one point in
your history your government decided to
give scholarships to students to come
here and study and see how Great America
is no pun intended and
I lived in that country for a long time
and I had just one big dream in mind
which was to get out of there as soon as
possible because for as much as I loved
Romania and the Romanian people that
country always seemed too small for me
and not for my for my ambitions but for
my curiosity see I was born and raised
in the capital city of Bucharest and
this is the place in Romania where
everyone comes to school or to get
better career opportunities so I went to
college there I got my first master’s
degree there I got my first job there
I’m a second job there I fell in love I
was heartbroken
I fell in love again and I suffered
tremendous pain and experienced
tremendous joy all in one place on the
same streets yet I always knew there had
to be more there had to be a world
outside my all-white friends and my
Romanian speaking friends there had to
be people who sounded different who
spoke different who looked different
it’s all the same so I started looking
for all these differences in my travels
I spent my early career traveling on
scholarship going on all these
adventures that started with just a trip
to the airport for me I never had money
to travel much but I was very lucky to
always run into people who believed in
my career and who would sponsor my
adventures I’ve been to beautiful
European places rich in tradition and
culture and I’ve seen sad places
conflict areas or poverty and loss are
just mundane topics at home I worked as
a magazine reporter and I was one of
those magazine reporters it always looks
for the different not because it made
for a good story but because
different humanize the world because
diversity is beautiful so in my home
country I had many different friends for
myself I had friends among people with
disabilities which see Romania is some
sort of roller coaster every time they
have to get out of streets because the
country that’s very little to defend
their rights I had friends among the
Roma community which is a community that
is associated with a very high crime
rate as a journalist I covered the LGBT
community which in my country being gay
men go into prison up until the early
2000s I loved every single one of those
different people the diversity is
beautiful and because we lack diversity
in my culture so when I got to looking
for a master’s program America was yet
another clear choice for me I choose to
be here because you are so different and
because you are so diverse and because
no matter how much you still struggle
with this and no matter the many
problems are still facing about
integrating the different you still do
much better jobs the job than many other
nations out there because I just love
walking down the streets of Columbia
Missouri and meeting my Indian friends
my French friends my German friends my
Mexican friends my American friends my
white and black and Asian and brown
friends all these people who have helped
me get a better education the United
States who have helped me get a degree
from one of the finest journalism
schools in the nation who have helped me
get jobs in places I only heard about in
movies who helped me integrate in the
small Midwestern town and even even
helped me create a business of my own
and travel across the nation to pitch my
story and our idea to investors
entrepreneurs businesspeople and anyone
who ever wanted to hear about the
outstanding things that Outsiders can do
in America and for America because I
have a small face in their eyes and
people think I’m some sort of mixture
between some Asian and some European
thing because I sound kind of funny I
have a funny accent and people people
don’t turn their backs with me
but get more helpful because of that
because if there’s one thing that I
learned in this life is that struggling
to fit in is a very very bad decision
for yourself that the real value comes
from having the courage to stand out in
every single way you can I speak six
languages and these are all the
countries that I have friends in all the
color ones right not the great one every
single one of those places has one
person out there who might host me for
the night who might tell me a story or
who might help me when I’m in need see I
don’t need to be a citizen of any of
those places to call those places home
for one night or for one year there is
no paper nor document that would tell me
I belong there as long as there’s people
loving me there because I believe that
no government nor country should tell me
when I should be staying or when I
should be going this life is not about
that it’s not about papers it’s about
freedom and love all those things that
know no borders no boundaries
no paperwork I am graduating in May
which is one month from now I feel like
this is some sort of graduation party
that I have because I know a lot of
people in the audience I’m graduating in
May and I am terrified I have never been
more scared in my life because as a
student graduating you’re already scared
at your ending an important part of your
life but at the same time I have no idea
what I’m going to be doing what I’m
going to do next or if I will be able to
stay here and continue working for the
projects that are very dear to me or if
I should just pack my bags and go
because all kinds of rumors about visas
and immigrants not being welcomed in the
United States sometimes makes it hard
for international students to reach out
to employers or employers to give a
chance to elite international students
that feel like they are not welcome
anymore
at the same time these are people who
have invested in we have been here two
years we have gotten skills that now
best serve your community and many of
these students want to stay and give
back they want to help you build this
country and make it better every single
day in every single way we can because
panic and anxiety and self-centeredness
can curb blossoming careers and the past
to get another person saying hey you
know what I was not born here but I care
about this place just as much as you do
and I feel like I belong here see I am
NOT an American citizen but in my heart
right now I might be feeling as American
as every single American in this room
and some of you might feel more European
than I do right now and maybe some of
you will want to travel one day to a
faraway place and we want to come we
want to stay there for longer and make
their place their own and meet people
and establish new relationships and
connections and we want to build that
place with them no government should
tell you’re not allowed to do that
because you’re not of the right
citizenship because you know what I
really believe we are all citizens of
the world and this is a world we create
for ourselves every single day so let’s
make sure it’s a beautiful one thank you
you
[Music]
you
[Music]
I have a confession to make I spent more
time in choosing this dress than
rehearsing for the TEDx talk which is
something that I deeply regret right now
then so yeah I was not thinking about it
but see I don’t have too many chances of
wearing a gown here in the states in
Colombia especially and so you know I
just wanted to emphasize this important
moment and because this is recorded I
wanted to show my mother that I am able
to wear high heels it’s just that they
are usually next to me not on me
so anyway mom I did it so um another
reason why I’m here is because I am very
very bad at public speaking I don’t like
it and I think most of us don’t so as
any mentally sane person who hates
public speaking you go and apply for a
TEDx top right because that’s what you
do so I’m really sorry virtually for
that um so as you can see I have notes
here because I’m incapable of memorizing
a ten minute speech and I have sweaty
palms and I didn’t sleep last night
and I’m pretty sure I’m gonna faint or
slip or fall or anything in between but
there is me besides all these things I
do have or I hope I have an idea we’re
spreading and this is one of the reason
why I apply for this TEDx talk because I
think citizenship is not as important as
we all like to think sometimes see I am
NOT an American citizen no surprises
there
but do I want to be one I’m not really
sure see it might be easier to get
around might be easier to get a job here
without heavy recruiters asking me how
long can you stay when are you going
home why don’t you have the proper
documents and what I mean I am legal but
I don’t have it I’m not a resident I
could start a real savings account the
type of account where you don’t add
every penny you save – just in case you
need to start your life all over again
someplace else I could have a real
housing contract the type of contract
that expires in more than three months
that would allow me to get furniture and
decorate a place of my own and not wait
to be kicked out
I could not live my life in a suitcase
and I could not I could buy stuff
without throwing them away in like 3-4
months I could get a dog I always wanted
to get a dog you know those creatures
that need you for longer than three
months I know
piñon quite a pain um I could start a
college fund for my future kids hey I
want to send my kids to Harvard too okay
and I need to start saving for that I
could not get stuck in this heavy
bureaucracy and I could plan for buying
you know my house part of the American
dream with an ocean view or a lake view
and instead of freaking out on my couch
every single night about what I’m going
to do with my life next I could actually
Google recipes or brownies or apple pies
or plan my next Thanksgiving dinner or
any other things that are so common for
you here that for me are quite a
challenge see I don’t know if any of
those things will happen for me here
heck I don’t even know if any of those
things will happen for me at all but do
I feel less of a citizen here now I
don’t you can see I’ve been living in
the United States for two years now and
you all have created a new home for me
if in my definition of home has changed
because of you prior to coming here I
have lived 28 years in my home country
of Romania a country in Eastern Europe
and I came here because at one point in
your history your government decided to
give scholarships to students to come
here and study and see how Great America
is no pun intended and
I lived in that country for a long time
and I had just one big dream in mind
which was to get out of there as soon as
possible because for as much as I loved
Romania and the Romanian people that
country always seemed too small for me
and not for my for my ambitions but for
my curiosity see I was born and raised
in the capital city of Bucharest and
this is the place in Romania where
everyone comes to school or to get
better career opportunities so I went to
college there I got my first master’s
degree there I got my first job there
I’m a second job there I fell in love I
was heartbroken
I fell in love again and I suffered
tremendous pain and experienced
tremendous joy all in one place on the
same streets yet I always knew there had
to be more there had to be a world
outside my all-white friends and my
Romanian speaking friends there had to
be people who sounded different who
spoke different who looked different
it’s all the same so I started looking
for all these differences in my travels
I spent my early career traveling on
scholarship going on all these
adventures that started with just a trip
to the airport for me I never had money
to travel much but I was very lucky to
always run into people who believed in
my career and who would sponsor my
adventures I’ve been to beautiful
European places rich in tradition and
culture and I’ve seen sad places
conflict areas or poverty and loss are
just mundane topics at home I worked as
a magazine reporter and I was one of
those magazine reporters it always looks
for the different not because it made
for a good story but because
different humanize the world because
diversity is beautiful so in my home
country I had many different friends for
myself I had friends among people with
disabilities which see Romania is some
sort of roller coaster every time they
have to get out of streets because the
country that’s very little to defend
their rights I had friends among the
Roma community which is a community that
is associated with a very high crime
rate as a journalist I covered the LGBT
community which in my country being gay
men go into prison up until the early
2000s I loved every single one of those
different people the diversity is
beautiful and because we lack diversity
in my culture so when I got to looking
for a master’s program America was yet
another clear choice for me I choose to
be here because you are so different and
because you are so diverse and because
no matter how much you still struggle
with this and no matter the many
problems are still facing about
integrating the different you still do
much better jobs the job than many other
nations out there because I just love
walking down the streets of Columbia
Missouri and meeting my Indian friends
my French friends my German friends my
Mexican friends my American friends my
white and black and Asian and brown
friends all these people who have helped
me get a better education the United
States who have helped me get a degree
from one of the finest journalism
schools in the nation who have helped me
get jobs in places I only heard about in
movies who helped me integrate in the
small Midwestern town and even even
helped me create a business of my own
and travel across the nation to pitch my
story and our idea to investors
entrepreneurs businesspeople and anyone
who ever wanted to hear about the
outstanding things that Outsiders can do
in America and for America because I
have a small face in their eyes and
people think I’m some sort of mixture
between some Asian and some European
thing because I sound kind of funny I
have a funny accent and people people
don’t turn their backs with me
but get more helpful because of that
because if there’s one thing that I
learned in this life is that struggling
to fit in is a very very bad decision
for yourself that the real value comes
from having the courage to stand out in
every single way you can I speak six
languages and these are all the
countries that I have friends in all the
color ones right not the great one every
single one of those places has one
person out there who might host me for
the night who might tell me a story or
who might help me when I’m in need see I
don’t need to be a citizen of any of
those places to call those places home
for one night or for one year there is
no paper nor document that would tell me
I belong there as long as there’s people
loving me there because I believe that
no government nor country should tell me
when I should be staying or when I
should be going this life is not about
that it’s not about papers it’s about
freedom and love all those things that
know no borders no boundaries
no paperwork I am graduating in May
which is one month from now I feel like
this is some sort of graduation party
that I have because I know a lot of
people in the audience I’m graduating in
May and I am terrified I have never been
more scared in my life because as a
student graduating you’re already scared
at your ending an important part of your
life but at the same time I have no idea
what I’m going to be doing what I’m
going to do next or if I will be able to
stay here and continue working for the
projects that are very dear to me or if
I should just pack my bags and go
because all kinds of rumors about visas
and immigrants not being welcomed in the
United States sometimes makes it hard
for international students to reach out
to employers or employers to give a
chance to elite international students
that feel like they are not welcome
anymore
at the same time these are people who
have invested in we have been here two
years we have gotten skills that now
best serve your community and many of
these students want to stay and give
back they want to help you build this
country and make it better every single
day in every single way we can because
panic and anxiety and self-centeredness
can curb blossoming careers and the past
to get another person saying hey you
know what I was not born here but I care
about this place just as much as you do
and I feel like I belong here see I am
NOT an American citizen but in my heart
right now I might be feeling as American
as every single American in this room
and some of you might feel more European
than I do right now and maybe some of
you will want to travel one day to a
faraway place and we want to come we
want to stay there for longer and make
their place their own and meet people
and establish new relationships and
connections and we want to build that
place with them no government should
tell you’re not allowed to do that
because you’re not of the right
citizenship because you know what I
really believe we are all citizens of
the world and this is a world we create
for ourselves every single day so let’s
make sure it’s a beautiful one thank you
you
[Music]
you
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