A few months ago, I did a thing… I was a TEDx presenter!
The theme for the event was “Grounded”, with the overarching theme of voices from Appalachia. The topic for my talk was fulfilling one’s need for home and for adventure through shared generosity.
I talked about making a home in Appalachia, after leaving my native country of Brazil. I only had eight minutes for my talk, so I had to cut a lot of material. If I had had more time, I would have definitely included more stories about the generosity I have witnessed and experienced in Appalachia. There has been so much of it.
For example, I wanted to talk about how teachers and healthcare workers around here will very often use their own money to buy groceries and Christmas gifts for those they serve. Or, how friends have showed up at my doorstep with casseroles when I’ve had a baby, or when a loved one has died.
I would have talked about how strange it was to go from a city girl life to living in rural southeastern Kentucky. Growing up in Brazil, my family and I lived on the 18th floor of a residential building on a busy avenue. I was used to taking public transportation everywhere, but didn’t know how to ride a bike. Here, I was getting lost while driving around hollers, and seeing roosters and horses around houses I visited. When I started making home visits for work, my father in law warned me never to stop for directions, or I might get shot — GPS didn’t work as well in the hollers back then, but people in those hollers don’t take kindly to strangers knocking on their doors!
I would have talked about how homesick I became once social media took off and I could check on my friends’ activities back home — spying on the life that would have been had I stayed in my hometown.
Finally, I would have liked to say that I understand it hasn’t only been generosity that has brought me to where I am, but privilege also. While thinking about my own story, it was not lost on me that privilege has played a role. It would have been more difficult for a Brazilian with less education, less resources and less opportunities to take on an adventure to Appalachia. And, if I looked, sounded and acted more foreign, it might not have been as easy to make a home here.
While this is an important acknowledgement, I still believe the main message of the talk holds true for everyone: shared generosity is the key to connection. And, there is no adventure or belonging without connection.
Here’s the video of the talk, if you would like to see it:
Thanks for coming to my TED talk
