The Ten Years After You Graduate High School | Stacie Sybersma | TEDxUCCI

The ten years after you graduate high school are very important years in your life. During your late
teens through your 20s, you navigate major decisions such as going to university or college,
working, falling in love, heartbreak, starting a family, and maybe even buying a house. Society, parents,
and the media put tremendous pressure on today's young adults to succeed, to thrive, and to not make
a mistake. But, in the pressure to be perfect, many youths can lose sight of themselves; who they are and
what they believe in. Stacie Sybersma received an invitation to her ten-year high school reunion on January 20th, 2017. After the initial shock of "what have I done with my life" passed, Stacie began to reflect on everything she accomplished over the past ten years, to which she was pleasantly surprised: She graduated with an Associate's Degree in Natural Science from UCCI in 2009, continuing her education and graduating with a Bachelors in Biology in 2012 and a Masters of Marine Management in 2015. In between, she completed numerous internships and side jobs, some are providing comical stories to colour this TEDx talk! She experienced heartbreak and fell in love. She travelled, moved out of her parents' house, got her first "real job" and, most importantly she got a dog.

[jessiewang]

i watched this the morning of my high school graduation... thanks for the inspiring words :)

[cilioakenshield]

As a High schooler this is an amazing TEDtalk to listen to Oh my Word <3. Especially when you think that you need to find your path DURING high school. People make it seem like its during high school but its really not

[billwong]

Hi! I am an occupational therapist by trade. I am also a 2 timer on this kind of stage. I am 32 years old now and I already passed my first 10 year reunion. I am now 6 years away from my second 10 year reunion.

As I was listening to your talk, I thought about what I experienced in my first 10 year reunion vs. what I might look forward to in the next 10 year reunion. When I went to my first 10 year reunion, I just started my first year as a licensed occupational therapist while just completed my clinical doctoral degree in it. I remembered I told my high school classmates about this choice. Many of them were shocked because those who knew me well then thought I would be well suited for mathematics. To them, learning that I work in a few that has nothing to do with mathematics probably shocked them. But before that event, I had a lot of doubts on my mind. I kept on wondering, "What would they think I am in occupational therapy? If some of my former teachers were there (particularly my math ones), what would they really think about my career move?"

Now, almost halfway to my second 10 year reunion, I have since done 2 TEDx Talks. I have also become a crazily popular individual in my field. I know who took honours and AP classes with me knew that I was smart. But they never knew a pretty introverted classmate of theirs have became an extremely popular person. They probably might not have expected I have done 2 TEDx Talks in a 10 year span (as I dreaded presentations in high school). But I am sure they would be wondering, "When I knew Bill in high school, he never seemed to find a science that was a perfect couple to his math skills. Now, since he has done 2 TEDx talks, he seemed to find a science that is a great match for him... even if it is one that not many of us expected." Of course, if my math teachers attended this time, they would be like, "What? You have done 2 TEDx Talks? They are in occupational therapy?"

In both of these past and future instances, I definitely wondered what people who knew me thought about me. But then I started to think if I were to talk to my 14 year old self, I would have said, "High school is a crucial part of your life. It can set the tone of what college I might get into. Also, college is way different from high school. If I don't spend my time wisely, I could end up wasting my future away. Lastly, while this process might take a while, finding my true passion takes time. It all matters is that you find your way."

Meanwhile, towards the end of your talk, I also agreed with you. On the social media space, there are lots of future students in my field indicating that they are interested in it on Twitter. So, I took my time to actually start interacting with them. I do what I do because there are some things I wished people who are already in the field would have connected with me and wanted to tell me about. Moreover, because I experienced some tough times as a student, I wanted to pay it forward so that it can prevent some people experiencing the same struggles I experienced. However, some of them ignored me even though my Twitter profile clearly states my professional credentials... since almost everyone who do so knows that it's something that they must take seriously. Some people are even more rude... as they would block me. (I have even seen some block me on Pinterest!) On that front, I want to say it to today's young people... if you are someone with serious career aspirations, be respectful to your peers and superiors- online and offline. You never know if the person talking to you today is going to be someone famous years down the line. You never know if the person talking to you is your supervisor tomorrow. Your social media is a great tool... as it is a powerful gateway for you to connect with people you should connect in the future. But if used improperly, you can burn some bridges before you know it.And just to note- during my short career so far in my field, I have met some ladies who are 6' 4" and 6' 5".

[TrinaKatracia]

Didn't even bother attending my 10-year anniversary because none of those people were important to me anymore.

[cf]

It’s only been 3 years and I learned a lot already 💀

[tsybersma]

Good for you, this is brave, entertaining and inspiring !

[Moto_Jeremy]

Hello classmates who are watching this

[queenapple]

I am 25 and I am been in school for 8 years never got my associate degree or even a bachelor. I have a final exam tommrow and I am not going to pass my class. Yet again, I am held back. I can’t drive, I am overweight, I live with my parents...it really sucks tbh.

[eliottrogers]

My teacher forced me to watch this ;-;

[AR-drsb]

Kinda hard to spit out 10 years of ure life at people can talk about a 1hour event for 3 hours 😂😂

[locariobarrio]

i believe now that phones all day are bad... i was good up until i got one. put phones away.

[brydermckee]

who is this video for? this is just another normal student with no emotional clarity or self refection, until they're 10 years out like her. was I the only one out there who knew all this before they were 30