Actress and beauty queen Kylie Verzosa shared her experience as one of the speakers for TEDx Makati earlier this month. In an Instagram post, she admitted how scared she was when it was offered to her but then realized how she would able to tell her own story.
TEDx is the grassroots initiative which was created in the spirit of TED’s overall mission.
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“When TEDx first approached me, I was kind of scared and intimidated. Speaking on that stage felt both an honor and a huge responsibility. It took weeks of reflection and rewriting to answer one question, ‘what story do I really want to tell?’” she wrote.
The TEDx Makati was held at the Mapua University in Makati City and she had the opportunity to share the purpose she found.
Kylie recalled how tough things were for her as she tried to consolidate all of her thoughts into a speech, acknowledging how she is “more creative than structured.” Despite this, she knew what she wanted to talk about from the very beginning–– mental health.
“I’ve always been more creative than structured, so putting my thoughts into something coherent and meaningful was tougher than I expected,” she shared.
“I knew I wanted to talk about mental health, but more than that, about how purpose isn’t found in perfection; it’s often born from pain. I drew from my own struggles with depression and anxiety, and how those dark moments taught me that we don’t find ourselves, we build ourselves,” she continued.
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The beauty queen turned businesswoman expressed how preparing for her speech became a healing journey for her. Through her TEDx talk, she hopes that people would find their purpose as well “even in imperfection.”
“A way to give voice to the parts of me that once felt unseen,” she expressed.