Speaker: Jonny Sun
TED2019
Date: April 2019
Location: Vancouver, BC
Description from TED website:
Being open and vulnerable with your loneliness, sadness and fear can help you find comfort and feel less alone, says writer and artist Jonny Sun. In an honest talk filled with his signature illustrations, Sun shares how telling stories about feeling like an outsider helped him tap into an unexpected community and find a tiny sliver of light in the darkness.
My Review / Notes / Thoughts
This talk is a great reminder that we are not alone… we may be lonely, but it’s ok to feel alone … just don’t be afraid to reach out … because there are others out there that feel the same way.
I think there are several ways this talk could be used in the educational environment. It would be good to use with a class of incoming freshmen. After all, it can be extremely isolating to move from home to a college setting and not know anyone else around you. Perhaps this video could be given to the students along with an assignment to help them reach out to their fellow classmates and find some common ground with a few others.
This talk would probably also go well with courses that focus on the socialness and/or psychology of people and/or groups of people. The talk could be used as a primer for a research paper, or perhaps for a group discussion or project.
Life can be lonely… we’ve all experienced that at one point or another. What is important is to know that we aren’t alone, and I believe this talk could help young people learn to come together, form bonds, develop friendships, and learn to deal with that loneliness that exists in this world.
How can you see utilizing this talk to help engage students?
Until next time … live long, life-learner!