About three weeks ago on October 9th, I spent an hour at a Non-IA event at the Global Engagement Night in the Enarson Classroom Building. There we watched two TEDx Talks videos and discussed them in small groups with other attendees and student-leaders in the Office of International Affairs. I was very impressed by the thoughtfulness of the activity and the insight from those in my group as we reflected on the talks. We watched two talks, but the one that had the most effect on me was the one given by Lizzie Velasquez titled “How do you define yourself?” Born with a rare disorder that prevents her from gaining weight, Lizzie endured a lot of negativity and bullying growing up that shaped who she was while at the same time refusing to let her condition itself define her.
In her talk, Lizzie said something that really stood out to me: “Tell me those negative things. And I’m gonna turn them around and use them as a ladder to climb up to my goals.” Her positive outlook and adaptation to such adversity was so inspiring, and also something with which I could relate to. Although this event does not necessarily relate to the topic of International Affairs, I personally gained a lot from Lizzie’s story as I could relate with her situation on a much smaller level. In the same way that Lizzie began to fall behind and notice her being different from the other kids as she grew older, I, too, began to experience a change in my body, or lack thereof, as I aged. Obviously to a lesser extent, it was still evident that I was behind the curve in terms of physical growth.
Having played soccer all my life, I relied a lot on my speed and relative size when I was younger. Come middle school, though, I really started to fall behind in size as everyone else began to mature physically and gain from their growth athletically. While all of my teammates and opponents continued to grow, I stayed the same size. I suddenly wasn’t faster than everyone else, and I got pushed off of the ball much more easily. This went on well into high school and has understandably affected my role on every team that I have been on since. Not letting the lack of playing time or drop from the starting lineup affect me, though, I used the experience, much like Lizzie did with her condition, to grow and to shape me.
Lizzie’s talk reminded me a lot of this time in my life and the constructive approach I took to such hardships. Instead of giving up on soccer and letting my stunted growth define me, I continued to play and accepted my new role on the team as a source of energy and positivity for the rest of the team, a player anyone could look to for a smile or to talk. These circumstances helped me to realize the reason for my love of soccer as well as how to define myself and my approach life, too. I definitely did not realize this at the time, but Lizzie’s words and our discussions after the video helped my to look back and appreciate the adversity that has made me who I am, much like Lizzie did, too. I was able to take those negative things and turn them around and use them as a ladder to become the person I am today and that I am proud to be.
Overall, I very much enjoyed meeting the people there at the event, and I am so glad with what I was able to take away, as well.