TED TALK BUCKET LIST. CHECK!

Years ago, when I first heard about the TED talks, it was a far away conference that I initially thought was a strange combination. What did Technology, Entertainment  and Design have to do with each other? The first two seemed irrelevant to me but the design portion was interesting. Later, as beauty and esthetic became increasingly valuable to me, and striving to be a better educator, and facing the exponential growth and impact of technology in my job and teaching, I saw the conference as less relevant but more inspirational, although the entertainment portion was something for the Californians, and not for me. Still a dream formed to attend it one day, somehow, despite the fields excluding me from being even an candidate to be be invited.

Fast forward a few years, and I watched two mind blowing videos; in retrospect, from the group of six that were first released in 2006. Swedish physician Hans Rosling's  The Best Stats You've Ever Seen and  NYC activist Majora Carter's Triple Bottom Line lectures blew my mind! This wasn't a conference about a far away industry that was was distant to me anymore. These were brilliant people talking about the world and inspiring a better one! From then on I was hooked. The conference was no longer invitation only, so although the cost was prohibitive and the likelihood of attending was still exceedingly low,  I put in on my bucket list to try and do before I die.

Now, as I sit writing this, I can name many talks that I have seen and heard that have amazed me over the years. The forum expanded to other cities and topics, including my own occupation. I have an app on my phone and a channel on my tv that I can listen to for more hours than I have time to! It's not how I dreamed it to be, all those years ago. It is truly something so much more! I cannot believe how accessible this conference and its life changing topics are today. They are truly ideas worth sharing!
Thank you, TED! If you haven't watched any, watch a TED talk today! I still aspire to be relevant and give a TEDtalk one day. So should you!