[Applause]
seat belt contacts permit registration
insurance okay what else am I forgetting
oh yeah sanity and deep breaths okay I’m
ready for this and I am prepared so I
take a deep breath the clipboard is here
vitamin later I pull into the parking
lot and wait silently as she scribbles
on my sheet she glances up at me and
with a smile says you didn’t check the
bike lane before proceeding to make a
turn that is considered a dangerous
maneuver so you forfeited the test great
I started Tett you mean I failed or an
animal cab Euler you’re basically
telling me that I’m stupid
I’m an idiot and I can’t do anything
right but at least that’s what it sounds
like to me you see I would have come to
terms with this fairly quickly except
for the cat I usually don’t fail tests
I’m a good test taker and yet I look to
my left and I look to my right and
everyone legally driving around me has
passed this test everyone it seems but
me I can pass math tests that most
people struggle on and yet I can’t even
pass the test that the majority of the
adult world has passed so what does that
say about me to me this is my first
failure as a functional human being and
non of my first failures as a young
adult and because of this I’m too
ashamed to get out of the car right away
but don’t worry I’d get out of the car
I’ve seen stuff that I’m standing here
currently no car in sight
and since I can’t escape that test I
practice looking over my shoulder and
looking over my shoulder again and again
and again until my next test
two weeks later I’ve got a new plan new
skills and that plan worked and now I
know you may be thinking that I’m here
to tell you how you should never give up
on your dreams and how hard work always
pays off but that’s not why I’m here
actually I’m here to tell you and myself
that maybe failing to reach your goal is
the best diving board you can jump off
of into actually reaching your goals but
let’s put that in perspective as a
society we often follow definitions the
definition of a setback is a reversal or
check in progress now this is true but
when we look at our world the only
reason we’ve moved forward is because of
setbacks so wouldn’t that then define a
step back as a step forward after that
drivers test I’m tempted to give up but
in reality fill in that driver’s test
smacks me in the face and reminds me
that I won’t always pass the test that
everyone else does and by realizing that
that horrible feeling of feeling like a
failure actually ends up helping me I’m
not used to failing tests I’m not used
to working so hard and practicing what I
think is the right material and getting
it wrong so imagine how I feel after
failing the very first test that wasn’t
in a classroom the test that everyone
said was so easy and you’ll pass it
easily no big deal
and so this test this so-called failure
leads to personal growth within me and
the ability to tell you to always look
over your right shoulder when going to
make a turn
and so that’s that I solve the problem
or did I you see actually the problem I
face not solely that I failed a test but
that some of the many people telling me
to get back in the car or in fact some
of the many including myself that
stopped at a step back instead of using
it and step forward we need to change
this mindset throughout our planets
history setbacks have been our cue to
get better it’s not making us better
themselves take us humans for example at
the primal stages of the human existence
I mean the primal primal stages we
humans weren’t the most advanced
creatures on the face of the earth even
though we had the potential to be we
hadn’t made enough mistakes to learn
from we didn’t have effective tools or
hunting methods and it was a constant
struggle for survival
so when families started dying off we
humans got her act together and changed
our ways and through the wheel new
weapons different methods for gathering
food and water it was the fact that so
many people died that led so many people
surviving with the obstacles we face
people got over each one
eventually paving the way for the
complex society we have today the
struggles they face might not have been
the same as a struggle I faced with
throwing murderers toast
but in both instances setbacks led to
personal growth and innovation thus
redefining the term setback this unseen
trend of stepping over our step backs is
applicable to all aspects of our world
for example long ago we didn’t have the
medical technology we do now and
millions of people die from something as
simple as a common cold the only reason
we were able to innovate and create
vaccines and antibiotics was the demand
for millions of sick people in need of
them in the 1980s the u.s. twin is a
stark increase in cases of acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome commonly known
as AIDS it took a huge escalation of
this disease for the doctors and thigh
just to finally get serious about
finding a solution years later we have
much more technologically advanced
methods for controlling the disease and
millions of lives have been saved
medicine really is incredible but it is
built off of setbacks it is carried on
the backs of those who are sick and
those who are determined to continue
even after they hit roadblocks we all
know people that sit on the backs of
those who are sick we know those who
survive because others died I know I do
my mom is one of those people and she’s
one of the reasons I’m up here today I’m
in this family room I am 12 years old
the lights are low and the air is
visibly glowing with excitement my mom
and dad had told me and my sisters that
they wanted to speak to us and naturally
I’m running through possible scenarios
in my head a new trampoline or maybe
we’re getting a new puppy after all
Christmas is in two weeks and I’m not
one to abduct getting presents early
it’s quiet and I can hear my sisters
breathing
my mom and dad walk in from the kitchen
and meet me and my sisters and they look
at me with a love so fears I can feel it
radiating down to my bones and they
start talking to us and I still thinking
about whether I like German Shepherds
more or labradoodles in cancer cancer
mommy has something called cancer oh but
mom is the superhero superheroes can’t
have cancer
this superhero does and I get to see
what that’s like and through months and
months of tagging along the doctor’s
visits and googling breast cancer and
radiation and listening into my mom’s
treatment plan
I had a first-hand look into the medical
industry and the jobs within it five
years later I still remember the moment
my mom looked me in the eyes and said
the cancer is gone they got it I also
remember the moment medicine clicked for
me medicine is now something that I’ve
become invested in and something that I
probably wouldn’t have thought twice
about had my mom never exposed me to the
rawness and the speed of it the trauma
that my mom went through ended up
leaving me with a gift of knowledge her
setback my family’s setback turned into
being one of the diving boards that I
jumped off of into becoming Who I am
today and I’m better for it setbacks
lead to steps forward
and so that’s that and going back to why
I’m standing here today standing on this
red circle what’s a microphone on a
weekday talking with you all I’m here to
tell you something and I’m here to ask
you something
I understand that not all setbacks will
lead to something good not all struggles
have a happy ending but all setbacks
deserve to be given a chance to render
something good so my question for you is
are you letting setbacks in your life be
what they are setbacks or are you rising
up from your turmoils and telling
yourself that if you put in the work you
will get something out of it
our questions we need to be asking
ourselves every single day these are
things we need to think about when we
look at our world when we see what’s
happening and we think to ourselves this
needs to get better we are constantly in
the middle of a setback it is your
choice as to whether you will stop or
whether you will take a step forward
Thanks
[Applause]
seat belt contacts permit registration
insurance okay what else am I forgetting
oh yeah sanity and deep breaths okay I’m
ready for this and I am prepared so I
take a deep breath the clipboard is here
vitamin later I pull into the parking
lot and wait silently as she scribbles
on my sheet she glances up at me and
with a smile says you didn’t check the
bike lane before proceeding to make a
turn that is considered a dangerous
maneuver so you forfeited the test great
I started Tett you mean I failed or an
animal cab Euler you’re basically
telling me that I’m stupid
I’m an idiot and I can’t do anything
right but at least that’s what it sounds
like to me you see I would have come to
terms with this fairly quickly except
for the cat I usually don’t fail tests
I’m a good test taker and yet I look to
my left and I look to my right and
everyone legally driving around me has
passed this test everyone it seems but
me I can pass math tests that most
people struggle on and yet I can’t even
pass the test that the majority of the
adult world has passed so what does that
say about me to me this is my first
failure as a functional human being and
non of my first failures as a young
adult and because of this I’m too
ashamed to get out of the car right away
but don’t worry I’d get out of the car
I’ve seen stuff that I’m standing here
currently no car in sight
and since I can’t escape that test I
practice looking over my shoulder and
looking over my shoulder again and again
and again until my next test
two weeks later I’ve got a new plan new
skills and that plan worked and now I
know you may be thinking that I’m here
to tell you how you should never give up
on your dreams and how hard work always
pays off but that’s not why I’m here
actually I’m here to tell you and myself
that maybe failing to reach your goal is
the best diving board you can jump off
of into actually reaching your goals but
let’s put that in perspective as a
society we often follow definitions the
definition of a setback is a reversal or
check in progress now this is true but
when we look at our world the only
reason we’ve moved forward is because of
setbacks so wouldn’t that then define a
step back as a step forward after that
drivers test I’m tempted to give up but
in reality fill in that driver’s test
smacks me in the face and reminds me
that I won’t always pass the test that
everyone else does and by realizing that
that horrible feeling of feeling like a
failure actually ends up helping me I’m
not used to failing tests I’m not used
to working so hard and practicing what I
think is the right material and getting
it wrong so imagine how I feel after
failing the very first test that wasn’t
in a classroom the test that everyone
said was so easy and you’ll pass it
easily no big deal
and so this test this so-called failure
leads to personal growth within me and
the ability to tell you to always look
over your right shoulder when going to
make a turn
and so that’s that I solve the problem
or did I you see actually the problem I
face not solely that I failed a test but
that some of the many people telling me
to get back in the car or in fact some
of the many including myself that
stopped at a step back instead of using
it and step forward we need to change
this mindset throughout our planets
history setbacks have been our cue to
get better it’s not making us better
themselves take us humans for example at
the primal stages of the human existence
I mean the primal primal stages we
humans weren’t the most advanced
creatures on the face of the earth even
though we had the potential to be we
hadn’t made enough mistakes to learn
from we didn’t have effective tools or
hunting methods and it was a constant
struggle for survival
so when families started dying off we
humans got her act together and changed
our ways and through the wheel new
weapons different methods for gathering
food and water it was the fact that so
many people died that led so many people
surviving with the obstacles we face
people got over each one
eventually paving the way for the
complex society we have today the
struggles they face might not have been
the same as a struggle I faced with
throwing murderers toast
but in both instances setbacks led to
personal growth and innovation thus
redefining the term setback this unseen
trend of stepping over our step backs is
applicable to all aspects of our world
for example long ago we didn’t have the
medical technology we do now and
millions of people die from something as
simple as a common cold the only reason
we were able to innovate and create
vaccines and antibiotics was the demand
for millions of sick people in need of
them in the 1980s the u.s. twin is a
stark increase in cases of acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome commonly known
as AIDS it took a huge escalation of
this disease for the doctors and thigh
just to finally get serious about
finding a solution years later we have
much more technologically advanced
methods for controlling the disease and
millions of lives have been saved
medicine really is incredible but it is
built off of setbacks it is carried on
the backs of those who are sick and
those who are determined to continue
even after they hit roadblocks we all
know people that sit on the backs of
those who are sick we know those who
survive because others died I know I do
my mom is one of those people and she’s
one of the reasons I’m up here today I’m
in this family room I am 12 years old
the lights are low and the air is
visibly glowing with excitement my mom
and dad had told me and my sisters that
they wanted to speak to us and naturally
I’m running through possible scenarios
in my head a new trampoline or maybe
we’re getting a new puppy after all
Christmas is in two weeks and I’m not
one to abduct getting presents early
it’s quiet and I can hear my sisters
breathing
my mom and dad walk in from the kitchen
and meet me and my sisters and they look
at me with a love so fears I can feel it
radiating down to my bones and they
start talking to us and I still thinking
about whether I like German Shepherds
more or labradoodles in cancer cancer
mommy has something called cancer oh but
mom is the superhero superheroes can’t
have cancer
this superhero does and I get to see
what that’s like and through months and
months of tagging along the doctor’s
visits and googling breast cancer and
radiation and listening into my mom’s
treatment plan
I had a first-hand look into the medical
industry and the jobs within it five
years later I still remember the moment
my mom looked me in the eyes and said
the cancer is gone they got it I also
remember the moment medicine clicked for
me medicine is now something that I’ve
become invested in and something that I
probably wouldn’t have thought twice
about had my mom never exposed me to the
rawness and the speed of it the trauma
that my mom went through ended up
leaving me with a gift of knowledge her
setback my family’s setback turned into
being one of the diving boards that I
jumped off of into becoming Who I am
today and I’m better for it setbacks
lead to steps forward
and so that’s that and going back to why
I’m standing here today standing on this
red circle what’s a microphone on a
weekday talking with you all I’m here to
tell you something and I’m here to ask
you something
I understand that not all setbacks will
lead to something good not all struggles
have a happy ending but all setbacks
deserve to be given a chance to render
something good so my question for you is
are you letting setbacks in your life be
what they are setbacks or are you rising
up from your turmoils and telling
yourself that if you put in the work you
will get something out of it
our questions we need to be asking
ourselves every single day these are
things we need to think about when we
look at our world when we see what’s
happening and we think to ourselves this
needs to get better we are constantly in
the middle of a setback it is your
choice as to whether you will stop or
whether you will take a step forward
Thanks
[Applause]
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