By Grace, Simone, Keenor and Madeleine
With special thanks to Mr Hughes
The TEDx Youth event held at Abbotsleigh was an enriching and educational experience that extended our views of connectedness. The theme of connectedness covers a range of topics, branching from connecting within our community, connecting online and with humans, to connecting with yourself & your mind. Over the day, we saw nine speakers enlighten us on their chosen topics of interest, and four talented performers who performed at intervals throughout the day. Simone, Grace, Keenor and Madeleine really enjoyed their time at Abbotsleigh and took away interesting & important lessons about connectedness. One key lesson was that the more we are connected to our phones, the less connected we are from the real world, which could negatively influence our friendships and relationships offline. Here are the girls’ reflections on selected speakers:
Shannon Harvey:
The first speaker we saw today was Shannon Harvey. An Ex Loreto student, she has written two books and has taken part in a documentary about a year of living mindfully. In her Ted x Youth talk, she spoke about how we are not told ways to take care of our mind, only our body. Shannon Harvey was telling us about her struggles with depression, insomnia, and chronic stress disorder. During her talk, she explained how she discovered that mindfulness improved the mind and depression. She went on to explain that connecting with yourself through mindfulness can scientifically solve mental illnesses, such as depression, and that no matter the circumstance if you take a moment out of your day to have a mindfulness meditation you will be mentally healthier.
Sarah Luke:
Sarah Luke has written two books; “Like a Wicked Noah’s Ark: The Nautical School Ships Vernon and Sobraon”, and “Callan Park, The Hospital for the Insane”. She is a historian, teacher, and author, and her work inspired us to look into where we source our information from. Sarah used the analogy of an echo chamber, showing us that we may find many resources that say the same thing, but that these resources may not be telling the truth.
The 440 Run Club;
Todd is an athlete, fitness professional and business owner. He is a former first-grade rugby union player and for the past 15 years, he has been working with clients to improve their health.
Trent is an athlete and ex-real estate agent who chose to follow his passion for fitness and become a personal trainer. Together they are the founders of the 440 Run Club, helping people live happier, healthier and more connected lives. From their story, we can learn that everyone is better off working together and embracing each other's differences rather than ignoring them, this way we can all come together as a community.
Lydia Burt:
Another speaker that spoke to us during the Ted X youth event was Lydia Burt, an ex-Abbotsleigh girl and project manager for Westpac. Lydia enlightened us on the importance of history, and how it impacts our past and present and helps us to understand the future. Lydia told us how events of our past not only help to educate us on our history, but can affect our future, too. We can use the events of our past to impact and dictate our future, to create a better & healthier world.
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