[Music]
[Applause]
where do you see yourself in the future
when I was 8 I could have gone on to
play for the England Football team and
when I turned 11 I really wanted to join
the army when I turned 14 I had an
opportunity to go and represent Great
Britain at the Beijing Olympics and when
I turned 17 I just really wanted to be a
police officer but I didn’t go on to
become any of those things not because I
like talent ambition or skill but
because of my environment my environment
always told me and showed me play it
safe do what everybody else is doing
live in the box that you’re inside fluff
up the pillows in there and make it
comfortable but that didn’t sit right
with me from a young age I always wanted
more I always wanted to explore and know
what was out there
it was difficult growing up like this
and feeling like I was the only one
alone going through these feelings and
these thoughts and being different and
if I had to send myself up in a couple
of pictures this was me from ages 6 7 8
I was inspired by jazz and blues and
spirituality and I was really connected
to who I was I was the youngest in my
family and I have a big age gap between
my siblings so I spend a lot of time
alone but I liked it because I got to
know who I really was
but when I’d go outside the door it was
different in my mind there was an ocean
breeze there were palm trees it looked
like the perfect picture of Hawaii in my
mind and I felt like how can I go like
me from Bosley green have these thoughts
but when I take my bike outside this is
what I saw this was a few pictures
showing you my street my annual holiday
to the local seaside my school my
weekend park and two years into school
in the last two years my bullying came
to an end five days a week over over two
years and I was so over the moon when it
was the last day and I just took my GCSE
results and left and this was phase one
of breaking my environment I moved area
I joined a new college and it was
amazing I turned 16 and it was the first
time in 16 years where I interacted with
my first ever white black mixed Chinese
Japanese people ever in England and that
really hit me hard and I loved it I
wanted more of this I wanted more of
this different feeling this different
life this variety diversity I wanted
more of it so begrudgingly I joined
University I felt like I had to do it
out of culture and might you know
societal expectations so I went I got
there on the first day and I realized
that I will not be here for a second day
it just wasn’t for me so I remember I
walked up to my tutor and I said I’m
really sorry for taking the space of
someone who really wanted this position
but that person isn’t me and with a
disappointed look she signed me off and
did I tell my parents tell now that did
not happen I took three months three
months in a cafe in Coventry it was a
gray it was like the cafe out of The
Apprentice that dole won I was sitting
there thinking how am I gonna tell my
mom what is she gonna say like what’s my
back-up plan
and I remember I would after three
months I went home and I said mom
there’s not going to be a dick like
you’re not going to
the graduation picture with me holding
the certificate like it’s not happening
I’ve dropped out and I held the cushion
up to my face but it was fine she was
alright she was understanding because
she had seen a decline in my behavior I
stopped eating
I wasn’t interacting that much and you
know I was really upset I was doing
something that wasn’t right with me that
didn’t sit right in my gut so now my
next move was what am I going to do
that’s going to be better than education
better than getting a degree and making
my parents proud what is that move going
to be so this is where mom head was born
mom head is a fashion brand that I
started in 2013 I started it with no
fashion degree or skill qualification
nothing to do with business I had no
qualification in it at all
I started it purely out of passion and I
was having the time of my life I was you
know meeting different people over the
internet connecting to so many different
amazing people that were like-minded
like me and it was all going great until
someone in my family said to me so how
much are you making I’m now how much are
you making and I replied with I’ve met
I’ve made this friend in Bolivia and
she’s like really cool and and then I
realized how stupid I sound and I’d let
myself down so badly I set out with a
task to build a brand to build a
business and I was I was far from that
and then my the lights went out on my
two years of depression begun and I
spiral downwards downwards downwards
until I stopped and I said no more so I
started applying myself I applied myself
so well that I read every book I
attended seminars i watch youtube videos
everything was free around me and I
thought why have I not used this before
so I’ve read everything I’ve found out
for SEO Manoir digital marketing but men
how to engage with customers and I built
myself and this led me to kickstart my
second company which was girl dreamer
that I have Co launched with my best
friend and you know girl dream is that
platform that’s there for young girls
that didn’t
of anything in school for them just like
I didn’t and I’ve worked throughout the
years with different girl gamers getting
them from their current state into their
desired state and now we do things like
setting up the UK’s first all-female
black and Asian boarders crew which is
like longboarding for girls around
Birmingham you may see some of us in
canonical Park
we set up safe spaces for girls in in
the community where they come and kick
it with other girls
where there’s non-alcoholic drinks we
listen to music watch movies play pool
do all the things that girls also want
to do but there’s not a space for after
replying myself in such a manner
I started doors started opening for me
because I started going to open the
doors and successes started coming I was
featured in vogue British Vogue I was
selling on Asus and I woke up to tweets
by the amazing youtuber Lilly Singh
known as superwoman and that’s when my
website crashed and people thought I
became a millionaire bitch I didn’t not
yet but it was amazing and I felt like
now that I’ve have really applied myself
I’ve actually done something I’ve gotten
results and people were tapping me on
the back saying Walden people are
wearing your clothes all over the world
now you’re empowering girls locally and
you’re rippling outwards so throughout
my adventurous journey I’ve learnt so
many things I’ve learnt how to live how
you live in your mind and how to bring
that out into your reality by applying
yourself just because you’re not in your
ideal environment does not change your
potential create the environment you
want to see don’t wait for me and don’t
wait for somebody else to come along and
do it for you do it yourself
ask yourself what your what your
potential is so I ask you again where do
you see yourself in the future thank you
you
[Music]
[Applause]
where do you see yourself in the future
when I was 8 I could have gone on to
play for the England Football team and
when I turned 11 I really wanted to join
the army when I turned 14 I had an
opportunity to go and represent Great
Britain at the Beijing Olympics and when
I turned 17 I just really wanted to be a
police officer but I didn’t go on to
become any of those things not because I
like talent ambition or skill but
because of my environment my environment
always told me and showed me play it
safe do what everybody else is doing
live in the box that you’re inside fluff
up the pillows in there and make it
comfortable but that didn’t sit right
with me from a young age I always wanted
more I always wanted to explore and know
what was out there
it was difficult growing up like this
and feeling like I was the only one
alone going through these feelings and
these thoughts and being different and
if I had to send myself up in a couple
of pictures this was me from ages 6 7 8
I was inspired by jazz and blues and
spirituality and I was really connected
to who I was I was the youngest in my
family and I have a big age gap between
my siblings so I spend a lot of time
alone but I liked it because I got to
know who I really was
but when I’d go outside the door it was
different in my mind there was an ocean
breeze there were palm trees it looked
like the perfect picture of Hawaii in my
mind and I felt like how can I go like
me from Bosley green have these thoughts
but when I take my bike outside this is
what I saw this was a few pictures
showing you my street my annual holiday
to the local seaside my school my
weekend park and two years into school
in the last two years my bullying came
to an end five days a week over over two
years and I was so over the moon when it
was the last day and I just took my GCSE
results and left and this was phase one
of breaking my environment I moved area
I joined a new college and it was
amazing I turned 16 and it was the first
time in 16 years where I interacted with
my first ever white black mixed Chinese
Japanese people ever in England and that
really hit me hard and I loved it I
wanted more of this I wanted more of
this different feeling this different
life this variety diversity I wanted
more of it so begrudgingly I joined
University I felt like I had to do it
out of culture and might you know
societal expectations so I went I got
there on the first day and I realized
that I will not be here for a second day
it just wasn’t for me so I remember I
walked up to my tutor and I said I’m
really sorry for taking the space of
someone who really wanted this position
but that person isn’t me and with a
disappointed look she signed me off and
did I tell my parents tell now that did
not happen I took three months three
months in a cafe in Coventry it was a
gray it was like the cafe out of The
Apprentice that dole won I was sitting
there thinking how am I gonna tell my
mom what is she gonna say like what’s my
back-up plan
and I remember I would after three
months I went home and I said mom
there’s not going to be a dick like
you’re not going to
the graduation picture with me holding
the certificate like it’s not happening
I’ve dropped out and I held the cushion
up to my face but it was fine she was
alright she was understanding because
she had seen a decline in my behavior I
stopped eating
I wasn’t interacting that much and you
know I was really upset I was doing
something that wasn’t right with me that
didn’t sit right in my gut so now my
next move was what am I going to do
that’s going to be better than education
better than getting a degree and making
my parents proud what is that move going
to be so this is where mom head was born
mom head is a fashion brand that I
started in 2013 I started it with no
fashion degree or skill qualification
nothing to do with business I had no
qualification in it at all
I started it purely out of passion and I
was having the time of my life I was you
know meeting different people over the
internet connecting to so many different
amazing people that were like-minded
like me and it was all going great until
someone in my family said to me so how
much are you making I’m now how much are
you making and I replied with I’ve met
I’ve made this friend in Bolivia and
she’s like really cool and and then I
realized how stupid I sound and I’d let
myself down so badly I set out with a
task to build a brand to build a
business and I was I was far from that
and then my the lights went out on my
two years of depression begun and I
spiral downwards downwards downwards
until I stopped and I said no more so I
started applying myself I applied myself
so well that I read every book I
attended seminars i watch youtube videos
everything was free around me and I
thought why have I not used this before
so I’ve read everything I’ve found out
for SEO Manoir digital marketing but men
how to engage with customers and I built
myself and this led me to kickstart my
second company which was girl dreamer
that I have Co launched with my best
friend and you know girl dream is that
platform that’s there for young girls
that didn’t
of anything in school for them just like
I didn’t and I’ve worked throughout the
years with different girl gamers getting
them from their current state into their
desired state and now we do things like
setting up the UK’s first all-female
black and Asian boarders crew which is
like longboarding for girls around
Birmingham you may see some of us in
canonical Park
we set up safe spaces for girls in in
the community where they come and kick
it with other girls
where there’s non-alcoholic drinks we
listen to music watch movies play pool
do all the things that girls also want
to do but there’s not a space for after
replying myself in such a manner
I started doors started opening for me
because I started going to open the
doors and successes started coming I was
featured in vogue British Vogue I was
selling on Asus and I woke up to tweets
by the amazing youtuber Lilly Singh
known as superwoman and that’s when my
website crashed and people thought I
became a millionaire bitch I didn’t not
yet but it was amazing and I felt like
now that I’ve have really applied myself
I’ve actually done something I’ve gotten
results and people were tapping me on
the back saying Walden people are
wearing your clothes all over the world
now you’re empowering girls locally and
you’re rippling outwards so throughout
my adventurous journey I’ve learnt so
many things I’ve learnt how to live how
you live in your mind and how to bring
that out into your reality by applying
yourself just because you’re not in your
ideal environment does not change your
potential create the environment you
want to see don’t wait for me and don’t
wait for somebody else to come along and
do it for you do it yourself
ask yourself what your what your
potential is so I ask you again where do
you see yourself in the future thank you
you
[Music]
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