TedxSyracuse offers wisdom on identity, perseverance
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On Saturday, the Underground at the Schine Student Center hosted “Coming of Age Conversations,” the latest edition of the TEDxSyracuseUniversity series. The six speakers delved into a variety of thought-provoking topics, ranging from matters of identity, the realization of their dreams and the choice to either pursue them or abandon them altogether.
Here’s a summary of the key ideas shared by each of the speakers:
Ulf Oesterle – Don’t Get Comfortable
Growing up in Syracuse, Ulf Oesterle pursued baseball, skateboarding and snowboarding. Despite having one arm since birth, sports have been a constant in his life.
In 2015, Oesterle heard that Syracuse would host an Ironman Triathlon. He raced, beginning a new athletic passion for Oesterle. Two years later, he became the number one ranked Physically Challenged All World Athlete in the Ironman 70.3 event.
Oesterle asked the audience to consider accepting the challenges that life throws at you in order to become resilient.
“I found when you learn to be uncomfortable, and truly accepting, you’ll find the greatest peace of mind that you will experience because you know that when you face your next challenge, you’re going to succeed,” Oesterle said.
Louis Smith – We Need to Disappoint Our Younger Selves
When he was 19, Louis Smith went to medical school to become a doctor. On the surface, it seemed that Smith had fulfilled his childhood dreams, but in reality, he felt conflicted.
“My younger heart was overjoyed. However, the Louis speaking in front of you today is filled with doubt,” Smith said. “I was left struggling with the question of who is more important, your younger self, or yourself today.”
Smith felt that the person he was today did not line up with the boy he was at age 12. It was a hard decision to make, but eventually, Smith rescinded his acceptance and chose the unknown.
Instead of prioritizing goals for the future, Smith said he focuses on the present by strengthening his relationships with the people that mean the most to him. And he pursues hobbies that fill his soul, not his resume.
“Living for the appeasement of our own past leaves us stagnant in our personal growth and opportunities,” Smith said, “I want to let down that 12-year-old boy sit across from him and show him that perfection is not living.”
 During his TEDxSyracuseUniversity presentation, Louis Smith spoke about the importance of living in the moment. Smith said that the best way to succeed in the present is to not worry about what our past selves would think. |
 When he was a sophomore in high school, Geoffrey Goose was diagnosed with stage two Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In his TEDxSyracuseUniversity presentation, he spoke about the guilt he felt around needing to have his parents pause their lives to take care of him. |
Cassandra Roshu | Photo Editor
Mo Wood – The Truth About Gender
During the pandemic, Mo Wood found comfort in TikTok. He found a community of people who didn’t feel that either of the gender binary labels suited them, feeling something in between or disconnected from the binary altogether.
“For the longest time, I thought if you were trans, that meant you went from one to the other, there was no in-between,” Wood said. “Had I known, I may have been out as non-binary a lot sooner than two years ago.”
Wood compared gender to a Lego kit with instructions on how to make the toy you’re given. One could choose to make something new with the pieces given, use pieces from other sets or not use pieces from the set at all. No one can choose who you are but yourself, they said.
“It’s taken me 22 years and I’m still learning new things about myself, my identity,” Wood said. “Just be kind to yourself and give yourself patience and space to accept yourself the way that you are.”
Olamide Olayinka – Interstitial: Embracing the In-Between of Identity
In her talk, Olamide Olayinka retold her journey in finding empowerment by embracing both her Nigerian and American identities. She said the gap between these two cultures as “interstitial.”
“Sometimes we try to put ourselves into boxes but it’s the holistic picture that makes us who we are,” Olayinka said.
Growing up, Olayinka felt like she wasn’t Nigerian enough or American enough. After going back to Nigeria for the first time in 17 years, Olayinka said she began to fully understand the duality of her identity.
“That hyphen in between those two nationalities illustrates my interstitial, but also bridges the two identities together,” Olayinka said. “It is what gives me the confidence to play my afro beats loudly, randomly speaking my Nigerian accent, or even combine some Nigerian and American traditions into one.”
Jack Adler – The Subtle Art of Chasing Your Dreams
During the pandemic, Jack Adler felt that it was finally time to pursue his passion for entrepreneurship and try his hand at starting a business. Adler looked to see how he could use his skills to help people during the difficult time.
After successfully raising $10,000 for COVID-19 Relief within 24 hours, he felt like these were the first steps in building up the courage to pursue his entrepreneurship dreams.
“I was just as shocked as you at home may have been,” Adler said. “This feeling of success was a little addicting.”
Adler created Out2Win, a venture that facilitates brand deals between college athletes and companies. He said that running a business has been very rewarding, but none of it would have happened if he didn’t take the initial risk of starting. Adler encourages us to take the leap sooner rather than later.
“What are you waiting for?” Adler said. “Right now, being a college student, we have the freedom, the opportunity to go out there and fail or succeed, who knows, but you have absolutely nothing to lose.”
Geoffrey Goose – Glass Child in a Bumpy World
After his girlfriend sent him a TikTok about the concept of a “glass child,” Geoffrey Goose felt seen. A glass child is someone whose siblings take up a significant and disproportionate amount of their parents’ energy. Goose’s brother, who has Autism and ADHD, suffered through a lot of traumatic experiences in his schooling, which his parents had to mitigate.
“My parents both worked full time and the time they had to spare had to go to my brother,” Goose said. “I was told at such a young age that sometimes I will need to step up not only for myself but for my brother because that’s what needed to be done.”
In his talk, Goose talked about what it was like to be a glass child in need of help. During his sophomore year of high school, when he was diagnosed with stage two Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He said that he often felt guilty that those close to him were putting their lives on hold to care for him.
Goose required a biopsy of the tumor lodged in his chest and started chemotherapy, requiring him to miss nearly a month of school. With aid from his parents and the treatments he went through, Goose has been cancer free for the last five years.
“I needed to be comfortable relying on my parents to care for me,” Goose said. “It taught me, as much as I hate to say it, that sometimes I need to let people down or say no to people.”
