Let Curiosity Lead | Yara Shahidi | TED

Summary

The speaker reminisces about their childhood filled with imagination and curiosity, which gradually transformed into a more practical adult life. They emphasize the importance of maintaining curiosity as a tool for envisioning and creating new worlds. The speaker shares their personal journey of balancing acting and education, advocating for the pursuit of multiple passions and interests. They argue that curiosity, not just expertise, is crucial for societal progress and personal growth, encouraging everyone to embrace their unique interests and explore the possibilities they hold.

Takeaways

• 🌟 The speaker reminisces about the sense of wonder and curiosity from childhood, which gradually shifted towards more practical concerns as they grew older.
• 🌱 They highlight the importance of maintaining an imaginative and creative spirit, even as life becomes more focused on routine and work.
• 📚 The speaker advocates for curiosity as a tool to envision new possibilities and to find one's place in the world.
• 🎭 Acting and education are presented as two passions that have shaped the speaker's life, providing opportunities for exploration and understanding.
• 🤔 The speaker discusses the challenge of balancing multiple interests and the pressure to specialize in one area, arguing for the value of pursuing multiple passions.
• 🌐 They share their personal journey of attending Harvard while acting in a TV show, demonstrating how curiosity can bridge different worlds.
• 💡 Curiosity is described as a lifeline, helping the speaker navigate feelings of pessimism and uncertainty about their place in the world.
• 🔍 The speaker emphasizes the power of curiosity to challenge societal norms and 'universal truths' that can perpetuate systems of oppression.
• 🌈 They argue that curiosity can lead to 'rupture' — the introduction of new ideas and perspectives that disrupt the status quo.
• 🚀 The speaker encourages everyone to embrace their unique interests and curiosities as a means to create and shape a better future.

Q & A

What did the speaker feel the world was like during their childhood?

The speaker felt the world was filled with time travel and adventures, and they were in awe of natural phenomena like flowers growing from seeds.

How did the speaker's perspective on the world change as they grew older?

As the speaker grew older, their sense of wonder and adventure transformed into more mundane activities, such as using GPS to navigate traffic and viewing sunrises only during all-nighters for work.

What did the speaker realize was missing from their young adult life?

The speaker realized that the imaginative and creative forces that once drove them had less space to thrive in their young adult life.

Why does the speaker believe curiosity is an essential tool in today's world?

The speaker believes curiosity is essential because it allows us to envision what could be different and helps us to build new worlds and find our place in them.

How did the speaker's curiosity manifest during their early years?

The speaker's curiosity manifested by reimagining and acting out stories like The Odyssey with dolls and reading various religious books at a young age.

What was the challenge the speaker faced when starting college at Harvard while filming a TV show?

The speaker faced the challenge of balancing their passion for acting, which allowed them to explore fantasies, with their desire for education, which fulfilled their desire to know more about the world and themselves.

What question did the speaker often encounter as they pursued multiple interests?

The speaker often encountered the question 'Are you sure about that?' when pursuing multiple interests, which made them feel like they had to choose between their passions.

How did the speaker's experiences in college and acting influence each other?

The speaker found that lessons from college classes informed their acting and vice versa, such as learning about media preservation in a hip-hop sampling class and using that knowledge in their TV production company.

What is the term the speaker uses to describe the change that emerges from curiosity?

The speaker uses the term 'rupture' to describe the change that emerges from blossomed curiosities, which introduces something fresh and challenges past ways of thinking.

What lesson did the speaker learn from Dr. Cornel West's independent study about societal truths?

The speaker learned that certain elements of society deemed as universal and immovable truths are often subjective and responsible for systems of oppression.

How does the speaker feel about the end of their college journey and TV show?

The speaker feels excited rather than terrified about the end of their college journey and TV show because they have built a life centered on curiosity, which means their purpose is constantly unfolding.