Transcriber: Take A Mile Reviewer: Tulio Leao
One of my hobbies, is Rubik's cubing.
(Laughter)
As childish as that may seem,
I feel like this colorful little box
is the best representation
of the point that I'm going to be trying to make to you today.
But, we'll comeback to that later
so try to stick with me.
First, I want to share with you guys
some observations on the world around me
from a 19 years old student's perspective.
The way I see it,
there's a big problem in the world nowadays,
and that's that people overall
are starting to become the same.
I mean, it's if everyone is constantly thinking
about what everyone else
is doing or saying or thinking,
that no one because of that can live for themselves anymore.
I mean, just look around you
with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Vine
our lives have almost become devoted
to this idea of fishing for likes and reposts.
It's as if the masses have grown to cling to this idea
that most of what we are
comes from what other people think of us
and expect us to be,
and then if you take them away
then nothing means anything.
But when we lay down at night and look at ourselves,
how can we be satisfied living our lives for those other people.
We're missing the fact that confirmation and conformation
are the exact same thing.
That when we constantly seek the approval of others
we're not acting as ourselves anymore,
we're simply acting how that person would act
in our situation.
Now, we have to rethink this lifestyle,
we have to find a way to become individuals again.
We have to begin to embrace
the little things that make each and everyone of us
absolutely unique.
I want everyone to do something with me for a second.
I want you take a moment and look at yourself,
find something about you,
maybe something not a lot of people know,
some small simple unique thing
that no one does quite like you do.
Maybe it's a hobby,
maybe math come really easy to you,
maybe it's your smile,
just something that you believe defines you.
And I really hope that by the end of today
everyone has at least one thing in mind.
Because that's where it all starts,
that's how you start to find that identity, that individualism,
and that unique thing will allow you to be happy as you,
no matter what anyone else has to say.
Now I begin with the same idea,
and that's because I believe it is exactly these small things
that truly speak the largest volume about who each person truly is.
If you don't believe me of, use mine as an example.
So, I want everyone to look at this box
and, what do you see?
For most people it's a toy,
some will agree, "Yeah pretty tough puzzle,"
others will say, "I mean, what's the big deal?
I can probably look up a tutorial how to solve it online.
I'm sure it's not that difficult."
You see when you look at it, it's insignificant,
but when I see it I see very important lesson.
So I will try to show you that today.
So we've all learned from the very beginning
that everything is a whole lot easier
when we work together as a team.
But those of us who set about finding that perfect team,
that perfect friend group, our very first time,
are going to fail,
and I mean we should,
you know for most of us life is not a fairy tale,
no matter how dashing the prince may be.
(Laughter)
As for the rest of us,
we just have to keep turning the wheels until as if by magic
everything falls into place.
Now most people,
when they see this beautiful picture that they've painted for themselves,
this perfect friend group,
they're too blinded to do anything to try to ruin it.
These are those who conform,
the people who are so focused on keeping their picture pretty
that they can't even step back and look at the entire 3D problem.
So this is the challenge I have for you guys after today.
Be yourself,
don't be afraid to rock the boat,
because things will come back together for you at the end,
and when you take a step back
you'll see the progress that you've truly made.
Now, a lot of people do get this far
and they see that perfect picture, that beautiful friend group,
that team that they've always wanted,
and the other aspects of their lives are starting to come along too.
But they're not finished yet,
there are still pieces missing.
They've not truly found that identity
because they've not found their unique qualities,
their Rubik's Cube.
In fact, it's the Rubik's Cube that show us
that progress cannot be made
without twisting the gears.
Without taking the chance of ruining some of what we already have
in order to progress further.
But if you've the ability to persevere
and find what's truly unique to you
and start living for yourself not for those other people,
then you'll actually realize that you were a part of a bigger picture
all along.
And things get easier as you go,
you know once you stop to try to fit that mold
and start living for yourself and find that confidence then,
the changes that you make will have less and less of an impact on your team
and on the other important aspects of your life as well.
Until you find yourself so close to that self-actualization
that you're not afraid anymore.
You now have the ability to finish strong and then say to the world,
"Here I am, this is me."
So yeah, it's just a toy,
it's my Rubik's Cube.
What's yours?
(Applause) Thank you.
(Applause)