On January 25, 2013 Reno had its very first TEDx event at the University of Nevada. The event was funded by the Online Executive MBA program at UNR and was coordinated by my former professor/social media mentor, Dr. Bret Simmons.
I was tasked with running the social media for the event and some follow-up blog posts.
Armed with my laptop, iPhone, a handful of chargers and my bottle of water I arrived on campus before 8am to get started (for those of you that know me, the fact that I was able to get out of the house before 8am is a feat in itself).
The agenda for the day was 18 speakers broken up into 4 sessions based on: Health and Hope, Education, Business and Entrepreneurship and Bold Ideas Worth Spreading.
There were stories of love, loss, perseverance, community and more. A few of the talks were:
A teenage girl who spoke about her journey of raising money and delivering 1,100 LifeStraws to children in Kenya.
A businessman who told how he used the power of social media to teach a generation of kids to do better in life.
A wife who spoke about her husband’s spinal cord injury and how they wouldn’t let that get in the way of their pure love, dreams and goals.
A software engineer who is now a leading online retailer of yarn shared her message of accepting failure and staying flexible.
A man that shared his vision of improving the world with random acts of kindness.
The talk that really inspired me the most was from a 13-year-old boy who spoke about his path of “hackschooling” and the importance of making a life rather than making a living.
His goal in life is to be happy and healthy.
His words really hit home because we homeschool our kids. We decided to homeschool because we want to give our kids a different path in life and hopefully something better than they would get in public school.
I’ve had some struggles with homeschooling the kids and in the curriculum that we use but his words reminded me of what I hope to achieve with the girls and their education and gave me some ideas on how I can do better.
I want my children to be happy and healthy when they grow up.
I want them to dream big and to try. Even if they fail, at least they tried.
I will no longer be the dreamkiller.
Instead I’ll be the dream builder.
I will help them. And myself.
It was truly an inspirational event to be a part of and I’m so thankful for the opportunity.
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I love the phrase, making a life, rather than making a living. How wise kids are these days!
Alison recently posted..7 Deadly Sins Of Blogging
Right? It’s such a great outlook on life.
It makes me so happy for you that you heard him at a time when you’ve been challenged by the homeschooling decision
angela recently posted..Finding Light in Winter
Thank you, Angela. I was happy too.
Twitter: TheDanaK
says:
This sounds like such an awesome experience, Jessica. I don’t think you have to worry about squashing dreams. You are an inspiration and your girls will see that.
Dana K recently posted..24 Weeks – a comparison
I did squash some goals my oldest had because I didn’t think they were good enough. I’m hoping to correct that.
Twitter: elenawollborg
says:
I’m so happy that you had a great TEDx experience. They truly are inspiring conferences. Charlie is going to actual TED at the end of the month and I couldn’t be more jealous. What a great line from that 13 year old – amazing that he thinks that big. Glad it was an inspiring day.
Elena recently posted..The 3 Day Master Cleanse
I hope one day I can go to an actual TED event. Maybe you and I should go and Charlie can stay home and take care of the kids.
This sounds like a wonderful event. I am so glad that you got to go.
JDaniel4′s Mom recently posted..How Do I Make Play Dough- Chocolate Shadow Play Dough
Me too. It was so inspiring.
My husband and I love to watch the TED shows on our iPads. They are very informative and not too long. I look forward to seeing the ones you linked on your blog post. Thanks for sharing!
Aleta recently posted..Wonderful Husband and Ultrasound
I like that the TED talks aren’t too long. Keeps people watching and paying attention without getting bored.
Twitter: gfunkified
says:
I was curious about the event when I saw your tweets/updates/pictures about it, so I googled it. It looks amazing! I bet that was so inspiring.
Greta @gfunkified recently posted..Fun (For Them) While It Lasted. #iPPP
It was, especially the teenagers who spoke.
Twitter: KimberlyAMuro
says:
What a great motto from him, making a life rather than making a living. That’s how I’ve looked at things so that hit home. I’m glad you had such a great experience there.
Kimberly recently posted..Essence Of Now: Big Changes
I wish more people would think about life in those terms. We would all be living happier lives.
TED talks are amazing. SO glad you had such a fulfilling and inspiring experience.
Tonya recently posted..What A Difference A Day Makes
They are amazing. Love how so much can be said in such a short time.