On May 3 we had a day where we, as a school, went to the Langley Events Centre. There was a day-long event of presentations by speakers from all around the world called Be the Change symposium. They basically were there to tell us all about just that, being the change. We started off in the parking lot behind the school where we were all picked up. The event itself was major. The entire arena was filled with educators, lawyers, psychiatrists, youth care workers, parole officers, students, presenters, and just everyday people who wanted to learn about making a positive change in their lives.
The presenters were of all ethnicities, from many different places. They spoke of things from Motivating for Success, to How One Person Can Make the World of a Difference; to What You Want to Do Before You Die…these presentations were all wonderful. Some were very powerful, while others tugged at the stings of your heart. The speakers were very knowledgeable and knew exactly what they wanted to get across to their audience. The event was from 9:30am-3:00pm. It seems like a very long day to be inside sitting and listening to people speaks, but it really did not seem like it was that long. There was a lunch break at around 12:15, it was a little later because everyone went a bit over their set times to speak. (I’m not complaining-it was great!)
The bucket list
One thing that majorly stuck out to me from this whole experience was the question “What do you want to do before you die?’’ The presenters that asked this question were four men from the MTV show “The Buried Life” They help people do things in life to check off of their “bucket list”. This got me thinking. I am a young woman who has barely left the country. I would like to leave a legacy for my great-great grandchildren and for them to say “HEY, my great-great grandmother was AWESOME, because she was fearless, and YES, she did swim with Orcas, and she did skydive, and YES, she did hike through the Amazon”… What I am trying to say is that the guys who gave this presentation really stood out. It is not a matter of “how” or “where” it is the question of “when???”
There are many changes that can be made in life. We all have control of the positive things that we want to accomplish. We all lead our own destiny. From the experience that one day brought me, makes me feel like I want to go out there and make a change for the good. I want to stand out and help others, and I want to be someone in this world to be remembered. If I was to sum up in one word the things that I got out of that day, the word would be inspired. The difference between laying around, feeling useless and sluggish-not giving a hoot about anything is just simple; you must be the change in this world that you want to see.
