Seven seconds.
A very short span of time.
Let's close our eyes and feel the beep down to seven seconds.
[BEEPING] Here, there it is.
That was seven seconds.
Very short.
Well, I want to take my time to share a story with you,
a true story, which took place in my home country, Haiti.
One morning, January 12, 2010, my fiance and I
met up before going to our university classes
to offer a prayer of thanks and to ask
for guidance for the new year.
We were soon to be married; we were excited and anxious
at the same time.
We were so looking forward to raise a beautiful family,
find jobs.
We arrived at the university about 25 minutes early.
We made our way to our different classes.
I walked into my classroom with about five minutes to spare
and sat down and reviewed some of my homeworks.
Other students filled in and did the same.
But I really didn't notice because I was just
like in my little bubble, right?
And suddenly the earth started shaking, without warning,
violently.
The building collapsed.
Students were screaming and holding on to each other,
and people were pinned under heavy cement walls.
I grasped onto those closest to me and offered in silence
the shortest, most sincere prayer ever done.
When the earth finally settled down, I slowly opened my eyes.
All I could see was a massive brown cloud of dust.
Nothing made sense.
I was also alone.
What happened to all these students?
Where did they go?
I somehow got my way outside, but the intensity
of the dark cloud was so frightening
that I wanted to go back to some kind of "inside."
There was no "inside" by now, right?
I looked around.
I finally saw some other students running around
and screaming and asking about their friends
and wondering, "What happened?
What was that?"
I was desperate, looking for my fiance.
When we finally found each other,
he made sure that we were safe and went back
to try to save some other students stuck
under big rubbles.
Now, a few hours later, we started walking home,
to his home, which was closest to the university.
As we walked, we witnessed the terrible destruction.
All these years later, it is still
beyond my ability to describe.
According to official reports, the earthquake lasted only--?
Seven seconds.
Yes, there were aftershocks, but most
of the terrible decimations and carnage
happened in those first seven seconds.
Hundreds of thousands of people died in seven seconds!
I still could not wrap my head around it.
My fiance and I had wondered if we would even
see our family on our way home.
There were no cell phone service, no internet,
no communication, not at all, and certainly
not in any of the rapid ways of life we had become so used to,
right?
No cars.
But we did; we made it home.
We found our families, and it took me three days
before I finally talked on the phone with my mom.
So, very soon after the earthquake, doctors,
volunteers, and other trained people who were really trained
to help in the aftermath of natural disasters--all these
doctors began arriving in our country.
This was such a thankful sight, but I was struggling.
I had anxiety; I had panic attacks.
Those seven seconds of the earthquake never left my mind.
And at that time, it felt like it was seven hours.
So I wanted to be around other people to feel safe,
but I also wanted to be left alone
so I could process my thought of what just happened.
I also wanted to hide because as someone
who speaks English in Haiti, I knew
they would ask me to go and help the doctors and interpret.
I knew that I would have to work personally with them
and go to the hospital and see rooms and be part of it.
I don't even like to go to pharmacies, OK?
So those initial days, we camped with many others
on the ground of our church.
We sang and prayed together and looked up
to the majesty of the stars every night we slept outside.
It was comforting.
But there was a soft voice inside
of me telling me that I was needed,
that I could and I must help, that I could not hide anymore.
So I decided I would follow the voice.
The moment of a decision doesn't last very long.
By that I mean standing up or staying down only
takes a few seconds.
Maybe about seven or less, right?
So I started working every day, going everywhere
with the doctors, but my mind and body
were exhausted every night.
I was grateful I had listened to that little, small voice
and chose to do what was right.
I was grateful that I was given, gifted,
a second chance of life.
So day after day, we became good friends
with the doctors and coworkers.
We were truly on a mission with a purpose
to connect, bring hope, to love on these people,
to love on my people, and to help them do their job.
These people were desperate.
One time we even helped deliver a baby on a ping-pong table.
I hope this girl is a good ping-pong player now.
So many of those moments of service and connection
were just that: moments, seconds, maybe seven,
because sometimes that's all we have.
But I saw what great things can happen in just a few seconds.
See, it only took seven seconds for an earthquake
to destroy my home country.
It took over 200,000 people's lives.
But guess what?
This is roughly the same amount of seconds it takes to make
a decision of a lifetime--a decision to do good,
a decision to make a difference in your life,
a decision to count blessings, to hug somebody,
love on people, smile more, give something to the person down
the street who is homeless, right?
Seven seconds, you can say hello and make someone feel better.
Seven seconds back in 2010 changed my whole life.
First of all, it gave me an opportunity
to pray and plead for my life when
it looked like it was over.
And it gave me the time to decide to get up
and do something.
Sarah Dessen says, "There comes a time when
the world gets quiet and the only thing that is left
is your own heart."
Listen to your heart a bit more often,
and act upon what it says.
Seven seconds, or a few seconds more,
or perhaps a few seconds to a minute,
right, has provided a lifetime eye-opening for me
and helped me take the time to be more present, to disconnect
so I can reconnect, to create, to co-create, to build,
to help, to serve, and to do many, many more things.
I wish and pray the same thing for you today.
Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]