For my second TEDxWOHS reflection I had the pleasure of watching Morgana Bailey's 'The Danger of Hiding Who You Are' Ted Talk. In her talk, she talked about how when she was really outgoing and outspoken and didn't care what people thought of her. Growing up in Kansas, she was a nonconformist in a conformist state, meaning she doesn't agree with a lot of the rules set in place by her state.
Morgana goes on to talk about when she spent a semester abroad in London, she found out something about herself that she would keep hidden for 15 years. Something that even when people asked her what her Ted Talk was going to be about, she lied to them and told them something different. Morgana bravely faced the Ted Talk crowd with tears swelling up and her voice cracking, and said that she was lesbian.
She goes to explain that for a lot of people, this may not have been as hard for them to take in or was even acceptable where they came from. But from growing up in Kansas she had to hide who she was. She goes on to tell a story about how one of her best friends dad and other town members voted on a law that said that homosexuals could not enter certain business and it was their choice if they wanted to enforce this law or not. And this greatly impacted how she felt about coming out. Would her friend accept her? Would she maybe would have changed her friends dad's mind? She thought about this for a while.
At the end of the video she talks about how because of not coming out sooner, she missed so many amazing opportunities and fell into depression since she could never really express herself to her friends or coworkers. She said how in her job as Human Resourcing she never really felt safe even though her company had many policies protecting her. And how coming out now, she knows that she can accept new opportunities without hiding herself and being true.
I thought that this was such a good video for any high school student to watch because so many people, especially in high school, students try to hide who they are to try and fit into certain groups or they pretend they like or dislike something so people will like them more. And in the end, you're really hurting yourself because the friends you have growing up change you into the person you will be when you are older. And if you hide yourself when you are younger you may grow up to be depressed thinking you can't be who you really are like Morgana learned. I really enjoyed watching this video for my second reflection and I think you should take your time and watch it too.
Morgana goes on to talk about when she spent a semester abroad in London, she found out something about herself that she would keep hidden for 15 years. Something that even when people asked her what her Ted Talk was going to be about, she lied to them and told them something different. Morgana bravely faced the Ted Talk crowd with tears swelling up and her voice cracking, and said that she was lesbian.
She goes to explain that for a lot of people, this may not have been as hard for them to take in or was even acceptable where they came from. But from growing up in Kansas she had to hide who she was. She goes on to tell a story about how one of her best friends dad and other town members voted on a law that said that homosexuals could not enter certain business and it was their choice if they wanted to enforce this law or not. And this greatly impacted how she felt about coming out. Would her friend accept her? Would she maybe would have changed her friends dad's mind? She thought about this for a while.
At the end of the video she talks about how because of not coming out sooner, she missed so many amazing opportunities and fell into depression since she could never really express herself to her friends or coworkers. She said how in her job as Human Resourcing she never really felt safe even though her company had many policies protecting her. And how coming out now, she knows that she can accept new opportunities without hiding herself and being true.
I thought that this was such a good video for any high school student to watch because so many people, especially in high school, students try to hide who they are to try and fit into certain groups or they pretend they like or dislike something so people will like them more. And in the end, you're really hurting yourself because the friends you have growing up change you into the person you will be when you are older. And if you hide yourself when you are younger you may grow up to be depressed thinking you can't be who you really are like Morgana learned. I really enjoyed watching this video for my second reflection and I think you should take your time and watch it too.