Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Blog Post - Week of December 9th (Due Monday, December 16th)

http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html

Please reference the video in your response.

58 comments:

  1. Mary Whitney
    period 2
    I watched this video last year I believe and I loved it very much. Brown just speaks the truth and she doesn't hold back. Each time I watched this video it hits me.. hard."Connection is why we're here. It gives purpose and meaning to all of our lives" I agree with this statement because most babies are born into a family, already tied with people. And then we spend our lives looking for connections with friends, lovers, kids, and jobs even. The first thing I do when I meet someone, is ask them their interests, see if we have a connection between us already. One thing that Brown finds in her studies is, "When you ask people about love, they'll tell you about heartbreak. When you ask people about belonging, they'll tell you their most excruitiating experiences of being excluded. And when you ask people about connection, the stories they told me were about disconnection." I find this extremely fascinating. These words that we choose to call emotions like "love" are directly connected to the opposites in our brain. That's how we associate them. I find that a little sad because If someone asked me about love I'd like to be able to tell them the best love story they've ever heard but that love story doesn't exist because we'd associate that love story with it's ending, the most memorable part of it. She has a lot of good points but I liked her finding of, "People who have a strong sense of love and belonging, believe they're worthy of love and belonging." I truly believe this is the truth. It goes back to "You have to love yourself before you can love anyone else" And many people don't realize that and I feel as if that's truly the problem. People are so scared of being vulnerable because that's the likeliest time you can be hurt. But what's so scary about being hurt? You don't trust yourself enough to know that you will heal? Being vulnerable is a terrifying thing because of the uncertainty that follows. Especially in high school, being vulnerable is just not an option, well it is but it's not a popular one. But if everyone was vulnerable, would vulnerability truly be that scary? I try my best to live with my whole heart because if I don't than who would I be?

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  2. Brown really fascinated me. I instantly connected with her, ironically, when she said, "I am interested in some messy topics, but I want to be able to make them not messy. I want to understand them I want to hack into these things..and lay the code out for everyone to see." That's the way I feel about a lot of things. I really enjoyed how she analyzed connection, worthiness, shame, whole heartedness, and vulnerability. She made it so easy to revel in what she was saying and truly feel your own opinion about the matter grow as her talk went on. I am amazed that she could form such a deep and emotional way of thinking about vunerability and connectedness, I find it fascinating when people can evolve such complex ideas and help others find their way around by essentially mapping out life. Of course no one can map out life, but Brown makes many extremely true points. Such as when she says, "When you ask people about love, they'll tell you about heartbreak. When you ask people about belonging, they'll tell you their most excrutiating experiences of being excluded. And when you ask people about connection, the stories they told me were about disconnection." Finding that vulnerability was the stem of both connectedness and disconnection as the same time definitely surprised me. I really enjoyed the way she connected with the crowd and how she made her talk personable. I enjoy talks like this and watching people explain their ideas and theories on how exactly they grasp life, because everyone's ideas are so genuine and so different.
    Cara B Period 3

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  3. Brown deeply interested me in this Ted Talk. Her concepts taught me a big life lesson in which we should all strive to do. In order to allow ourselves to feel worthy enough and to make connections with others and the world, we need to be willing to be vulnerable. Vulnerability creates a chain reaction, giving us courage and compassion. We need to stop numbing vulnerability, with society's comforts such as food, drugs, and lies, and start gaining the confidence within ourselves to dive into the unknown. Its hard, and I think it's something that we all struggle with, but it's the key piece in unlocking so much of what life has to offer, including happiness and love. I took a very important message away from Brown's Ted Talk.
    Claire Paterson
    Period 3

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  4. Brown deeply interested me in this Ted Talk. Her concepts taught me a big life lesson in which we should all strive to do. In order to allow ourselves to feel worthy enough and to make connections with others and the world, we need to be willing to be vulnerable. Vulnerability creates a chain reaction, giving us courage and compassion. We need to stop numbing vulnerability, with society's comforts such as food, drugs, and lies, and start gaining the confidence within ourselves to dive into the unknown. Its hard, and I think it's something that we all struggle with, but it's the key piece in unlocking so much of what life has to offer, including happiness and love. I took a very important message away from Brown's Ted Talk.
    Claire Paterson
    Period 3

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  5. Michael Caminear Period 6
    I very much enjoyed listening to Brown in this video. She brought up multiple points that were very interesting. One point that I would like to bring up is how she said certain people embrace their vulnerability and think that the more vulnerable they are, the more beautiful they are altogether. This just goes to show embracing certain weaknesses can lead to noticeable benefits.
    Another interesting point that I would like to address is how vulnerability is its own contradiction in itself. It can cause a multitude of negative things such as fear, shame, loneliness, etc. But it can also be the epicenter of many great qualities such as love, creativity, and joy. This idea on its own further enforces the idea that every quality, no matter what, is bipolar and can influence somebody in various ways. This is not only important in the video, but it also expresses a broad social moral in the grand scheme of life.
    Most importantly, Brown brought up a very true fact of life that we must all face: We live in a vulnerable world and it is difficult to discard the negative feelings that come along with it without also losing some of the positive ones as well. All in all, I enjoyed this video and look forward to any that may be similar to it.

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  6. George H. P.7

    Brene Brown talks deeply about are understanding of emotions and feelings. She really breaks down the whys and the hows to the true answers we can logically look at and understand. Her deepened education expands my horizons on what feelings truly mean when we express them. While teaching a deeper feeling process she explains that through a courage of asking advice or opinions we are truly opening are selves up for vulnerability to what can be hard to overcome for some. She explains that as a nation now we are more vulnerable but this can be good as well as bad its a way for us to show other emotions because are emotions are the vulnerability. In conclusion if we were to eliminate are emotions there would be no vulnerability at all. Emotions are also good though because if everyone was to show them more often that this nation would be able to overcome there vulnerabilities.

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  7. Caroline M. 2
    Brene Brown really caught my attention during her Ted talk. I was deeply interested and intrigued in what her key points were that she made. Here understanding about today's peoples emotions and feelings are true and right. Everyone is vulnerable in the world today. Some accept it and embrace while others do not. The ones who do accept, “They fully embraced vulnerability. They believed that what made them vulnerable, made them beautiful. They didn't talk about vulnerability being comfortable, nor did they really talk about it being excruciating, they just talked about it being necessary.They talked about the willingness to say I love you first. The willingness to do something where there are no guarantees. The willingness to breathe through waiting for the doctor to call after your mammogram. Be willing to invest in a relationship that may or may not work out. They thought this was fundamental.” These people don't care about hat others think of them. That what makes them happy. There not going to hide there going to be open. I wish today everyone could be like this but we all cant overcome our fears. One step at a time we will take.

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  8. Jared C. Period: 2
    Brown's lecture brought up many deep and interesting points. She tells of how vulnerability is the main concept that ties society together and tears it apart. Those who can open up and offer opinions or advice show their true selves and are then open to be criticized, therefore making them truly vulnerable. However, those who do not share their opinions miss out on life and often feel worthless and feel they don't deserve affection or admiration. Eliminating emotions would lead to no vulnerability but that would have cons as well. Eliminating vulnerability would lead everyone to be reserved and no one would have good relationships and the connections Brown speaks of will diminish in strength and number; love and friendship would start to die off. We do live in a messy world and though Brown disagrees, enjoy it for what it is, for the good and bad; for without either, would we really be human?

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  9. I found Brown's Ted talk captivating. She spoke eloquently and her message relates to everyone. Through her stories, Brown connects us to each other. We learn that everyone shares vulnerability and shame. She says how those who don't admit their shame often have less confidence. In order to have compassion for others, we must first have compassion for ourselves. I love how Brown ends with, "You are enough." It is something we must constantly remind ourselves instead of striving toward perfection. Being satisfied with who you are is important in accepting vulnerability.

    Eleanor Hall
    Period 3

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  10. In many cases vulnerability is looked at in a bad way. If someone is vulnerable they are considered weak. Though vulnerability is a part of life. Embracing it just helps you as a whole. You are better off being in tuned with your emotions and living life based off them. We need to realize that life isn't perfect and its not supposed to be. That doesn't mean that you should try to control every detail of your life because life is meant to have a few bumps in the road. I agreed especially when she said that parents should not control every detail their child makes. Children aren't perfect beings that it is the parents job to keep them that way. They are imperfect and that is the way they are meant to be. Encourage but don't add pressure. People are meant to make mistakes. Just learn from your mistake and own up to it and then move on. This video made me rethink how important vulnerability actually is to our lives.


    Stephanie Durso
    Period:7

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  11. Jackson Mariotti
    Period 6
    This video really spoke to me. I experience and witness the exact situations Brown discussed in her TED talk, every day. People everywhere experience disconnection because of insecurities. At one point she once said that people always use the "I'm not ___ enough". It is true, many people suffer from an inability to recognize the good. Instead, they focus on what is bad and it consume all their thoughts. Then to deal with the pain and somber thoughts, we try to numb it. This was not a new concept to me, I think we all realized that people rely on crutches when it comes to facing the facts. Yet, her ideas afterwords that by doing that we numb everything, made me think. She is right, we live in a world were it is easy to get rid of discomfort. If you are too cold, you turn up the heat. If you do not like a song, you skip it. If you are feeling down, you resort to other ways to numb it. This leads to a society without much discomfort. How can you appreciate anything without experiencing a bad situation? Unhappiness increases our moods when we finally become happy. It is all comparative, and we eliminated our ability to compare. If we keep ignoring our insecurities and everything that we don't like, we will never be able to fully enjoy anything. Otherwise, we will only end up sad. Her talk encouraged me to accept my faults and just be who I am. The only way people can make connections in this world is to let go of who they think they should be and accept who they are. We can all learn a lot from that lesson. I had never realized the massive affect vulnerability has on people's lives before this video. It changed my mindset.

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  12. This video can be easily connected to every single human being in this world as we all feel this universal feeling of vulnerability. Brown first talked about vulnerability in a negative aspect of feeling shame and fear and unacceptance, but slowly developed to say that everything come with pros and cons. We can’t selectively choose to feel only the great emotions and eliminate the bad or unwanted ones. Our emotions come in a package and it’s up to us to find the good in bad. We can look at emotion in the worse way we can but there is no positive outcome in viewing life or emotion that way. Everything has pros can cons and without those cons the pros would never be what they are. The shame, fear unacceptance makes us realize the pride, bravery and acceptance. I also love how honest Brown was in the video. She wasn’t shy or embarrassed to share her personal story and that way I can better connect, understand her point, opinion and vulnerability.
    ~ Shilpa R Period 3

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  13. No one would say that the enjoy being vulnerable. If given an option, im sure everyone would prefer that it not exist. Brown began her talk by explaining on a personal level her discomfort with connection. She then explained her process of coming to terms with the fact that vulnerability is a necessary discomfort. Without it, we would not be able to have a strong sense of joy and accomplishment. By putting ourselves out there and creating the option of being vulnerable, we are able to better understand human emotion. We are able to be more empathetic and loving. We come to accept the fact that vulnerability is a required emotion if we want to get the most out of life.

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  14. Vulnerability is present in every person's life and it is unavoidable. Brown speaks about people feeling vulnerable in everyday situations such as asking someone out, waiting for a doctor to call back, or asking for help. This is very interesting considering every person can relate to this as everyone has felt vulnerable at one point or another. People don't like to discuss feeling vulnerable because it can be quite scary and embarrassing because to be vulnerable is to put yourself out there in a position where it is possible to get hurt. In her TED Talk, Brown says, "Vulnerability is kind of the core of shame, and fear, and our struggle for worthiness, but it appears that it is also the birthplace of joy, of creativity, of belonging, of love." This statement really stood out to me as inspirational because it makes you think that, if you never put yourself out there in the world, you will miss out on some of the best things in life.

    Period 8

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  15. Dan Lalor Period 2
    What a fascinating theory regarding human nature. Vulnerability certainly is an appropriate topic for high school students for its a common insecurity among us.
    The idea of self acceptance is one which can easily be said, however rarely do we discuss the more profound implications of it.
    I was especially interested in Brown's connection to the modern society in regards to how vulnerability causes individuals to make the uncertain certain and effectively close their minds. Such an attitude stunts progress and is therefore extremely detrimental to our society. I believe that what Brown has to say is quite important and am grateful to have heard it.

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  16. Vulnerability is a beautiful thing; it’s a raw thing. I’m that type of person who finds strength through being vulnerable. I have accepted vulnerability in my life. I think by being vulnerable, I can be myself. I can accept my imperfections and things that don’t go the way I’ve planned. Through vulnerability, I find my true friends, the people who accept the story of who I am and my authenticity. As a saying goes, its better to pull the band aid earlier, thus people who can’t accept your vulnerability isn’t worthy of being your friend. By exploiting your vulnerability, you’re letting go of your fears; you’re putting yourself for rejection for the pain, for the hurt, for all the hurdles that come with vulnerability. For all the people that hide behind the vulnerability, don’t, vulnerability is an unnecessary hurdle, you’ll feel more miserable hiding behind it. Don’t hide behind your fear because you are enough. Being enough is important. Knowing that you have a limit, knowing that you are simply enough to make the most people in your life care about you. In the beginning, Brown mentioned a quote, “If you can’t measure it, it doesn’t exist.” You can’t measure vulnerability, yet it exists. Vulnerability as Brown said, “they just talked about it being necessary. They talked about the willingness to say I love you first. The willingness to do something where there are no guarantees. The willingness to breathe through waiting for the doctor to call after your mammogram. Be willing to invest in a relationship that may or may not work out. They thought this was fundamental.” It is a lot about a willingness, compassion, and courage. If you find vulnerability as a personal strength, it’ll give you a more open view about people. It’ll allow you to be empathetic and to care more. This is what vulnerability has done to me; it has allowed me to be a better citizen and better person. It is my personal strength allowing me to feel more relatable to my friends, family, and feel more appreciative about my life and myself. This TED talk simply had so much meaning and application to my life, within it I found a personal strength and I felt proud of my vulnerable state along with my openness to accepting different aspects of my life.
    Miranda S.
    Period 6

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  17. I had a hard time with this video because it's just metacognition on top of metacognition: thinking about thinking about thinking about thinking and so on. So I had to pause the video every once in a while to absorb and connect to what she was actually saying. In this Ted Talk, Brown said, "This is what I have found: to let ourselves be seen, deeply seen, vulnerably seen; to love with our whole hearts, even though there's no guarantee ... to practice gratitude and joy in those moments of terror, when we're wondering, "Can I love you this much? Can I believe in this this passionately? Can I be this fierce about this?" just to be able to stop and, instead of catastrophizing what might happen, to say, "I'm just so grateful, because to feel this vulnerable means I'm alive." And the last, which I think is probably the most important, is to believe that we're enough." I think going through life I assume that I show my vulnerability, but after watching this, I wasn't too sure. Am I vulnerable enough? How should I express my vulnerability to people? But, she was right in saying that we need to be grateful and joyful about what we have and what we are feeling. Because to have these sort of feelings and questions is a privilege in itself. Also, a big thing I took from this talk was that life /is/ connections. Whether it's connections with people or nature or even our possessions, it's all about how we relate with others. This made me think of Walden and Paper Towns because they were all about connections. And the funny thing about connecting is that it is not about other people, it's more about yourself. You can't be yourself and connect with others unless you know and accept who you really are.
    Jennifer G.
    Period 3

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  18. I feel that Brown throughout her speech tapped into her own vulnerability to share her failures with attempting to discover what the true meaning of connection and its imperfections. By expressing her findings this way, she was successful in making a connection with the audience, that even though she strives towards perfection, she hasn't been able to obtain it either. That is when the factor of vulnerability came to play. Brown's research had allowed her to overcome her insecurities with not being perfect,and accept them in their entirety. Although I enjoy how she describes the large amount of struggle that she experienced with over coming her feelings. It must have been difficult for her to engage in 6 years of deep research to then realize that the solution you have been excavating isn't a happy one. My favorite part of her whole TED talk was when she mentioned that humans, "numb everything." I think this quote is a perfect representation of how people act. I have seen it first hand, and its terrible to watch unravel. There is no way to numb the pain without also getting rid of the joy and happiness that comes with life, and that then leads to more struggle, and more vulnerability. I love how Brown connected all the information she found in a sort of loop so that it could be observed as one.
    Alyssa Case

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  19. I found that Brown's talk was very effective and can relate to many people as they feel vulnerable. In the talk she had mentioned, "We have always felt that I'm not blank enough feeling, that feeling of shame towards everything." In todays society there's we are competing against each other and always wanting to be more pretty, thinner, funnier, smarter, etc. and that is when, in my opinion, we feel most vulnerable. I feel as though everyone is so worried and caught up in who we want to be instead of who we really are as a person. It's hard to be yourself when you are constantly comparing yourself to those around you which just results in becoming more and more vulnerable. This TED talk really did personally effect me in a good way, allowing me to look beyond my insecurities and be happy with the person who I am today.
    Marissa G.
    Per. 8

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  20. Jake Swanson Period 2
    Brown said lots of things that made me think. The first thing was: what makes us vulnerable, makes us beautiful. That's the truth, because people make mistakes, but the more mistakes we make,the more determined we become and go ahead for new mistakes. She also stated, "We live in a vulnerable world." There is no doubt, that vulnerability is an unavoidable part of human life. And the last thing, which I liked most of all is that people want to be worthy, to be necessary. These words turned my attention most of all,because that is just what I was thinking. Our vulnerability makes us feel that we're alive, that we still exist.

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  21. Brown makes me think deeper about being vulnerable. She really thinks that being vulnerable makes us different, and unique. She knows that people are vulnerable and adapt to society. People have to break out of their comfort zone in order to not be that vulnerable. We cant avoid being open to the world, but we can only limit our interaction with the outside world. we have to be open and accept the fact that we are vulnerable. We are very vulnerable and we have to accept this.
    Ryan Connell
    Period 2

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  22. Jack Murray period 8
    Brown throughout the speech referred to how making mistakes makes us beautiful and who we are. It makes every body different and its like if everyone was perfect we would all be the same. Vulnerability is something that we cannot avoid in life because of perfections of people around us. Were so caught up in trying to be better people and being worth something to somebody that we often forget just what kind of person we are. This article definitely effected me in helping me better understand how we should just be ourselves

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  23. Ahmad Zaidi
    Period 6
    Brown really changed my understanding of human nature because before this I never realized eliminating bad emotions can also eliminate good feelings. She was successfully able to explain how most of our problems are caused because we are denying emotions like vulnerability and shame. Another thing that I learned from this video is that a person should not deny his/her shortcoming or weaknesses because denying them would cause him to make more mistakes. So even though everybody thinks that we should eliminate bad emotions but instead in order to be truly happy, we need to accept those emotions. Because there would not be any good emotions without the bad.

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  24. Vulnerability is an emotion that nobody wants to feel. It is tough opening yourself up and taking a leap of faith. But in doing so you create opportunity for growth and progression in relationships. Its this that Brown struggled to come to grips with. She felt that vulnerability was a bad thing. If no one wants to deal with it then they must be a sign of weakness. When she finally saw its potential and what it is she had her breakdown and lost it. But as she got through it Brown comes to grips that it is important to deal with it and not numb it. Ignoring vulnerability leads to nothing good. It develops us and how we handle certain situations. Brown shows us that we have to deal with our vulnerabilities and accept ourselves.

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  26. I believe that we need to incorporate the 3 c's into our daily lives. The 3 c's would be compassion, caring, and connection. As we see urban sprawl become a more pressing matter in the world today, we see connection beginning to fail. Individuality is beginning to take precedence as people lose respect for the little things and believe that they can do everything by yourself. they lose respect for the unseen things that are done by people every day to make their lives easier. What is a businessman without his CEO, and his Ceo without his businessman? We are all connected, and we have to learn to accept that if we truly want to better our lives, and the lives of the peole around us.
    Period 3 Mike B.

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  27. Vulnerability is something we can all connect to in our daily lives. Although, we don't like to discuss vulnerability it is a quality that we all need to accept as a part of being a human. Brown talks about how being vulnerable allows you to make connections to the world and the rest of society. She also mentions that you have to learn to accept yourself and all your imperfections and vulnerabilities. In accepting these vulnerabilities we can all be unique and different and not have to worry too much about self acceptance.
    Jessica M. Period 6

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  28. Jordyn B. P2
    "When you ask people about love, they tell you about heartbreak" and "To love with our whole hearts, even though there is no guarantee" are two quotes that really stuck out to me. I wonder, what is love? Who defined this word that is so essential in our lives today? There is no guarantee for anything in life, but we feel as though our love should always be so perfect. Brown spoke about so many points that I related with personally; I felt as though she could've been speaking to me alone. She touched upon at least one aspect of every single persons life. And for most children, she gave them the voice they wish to have to say, "I don't need to be perfect, I am me." Why is it that in our society being yourself is not perfect? I believe that their is perfection in being who you truly are. Yes, I am guilty of not abiding by this, but aren't we all? There was so much truth in this video I find it hard to take it all I'm and explain my feelings about it; but it's a good feeling of confusion. I feel like every teen that thinks they need a therapist could have almost all of their problems solved by listening to her! Nothing is certain in life...but failure, vulnerability, sadness, disappointment, success to some degree defined by yourself, and joy are all necessary parts. Don't think too much.

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  29. Brown brings up a lot of great points in this video that related to her research. The premise of this video is about vulnerability. Many think that the quality of being vulnerable is a negative one, but Brown brought up many points that proved otherwise. Most, if not all, people experience shame and most people don't like to reveal this shame they have of themselves for others to know. Brown views this shame that you have as something you have in common with someone else. If you embrace this shame, this feeling of vulnerability becomes something else and something better. I really enjoyed this video and the decade long research that Brown put her time into.

    Kevin C. Period 3

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  30. I thought this was a very compelling TED talk. The main purpose of the talk was for Brown to relay the message that if you do not allow yourself to be vulnerable and put yourself out there then you will never realize your full potential for success. It seems that today vulnerability is considered to be a weakness. However, to me this TED talk showed that so many great experiences would be unreachable if you don't allow yourself to be vulnerable. Brown said, "Vulnerability is kind of the core of shame, and fear, and our struggle for worthiness, but it appears that it is also the birthplace of joy, of creativity, of belonging, of love." This statement was what I gained from this talk and I believe it will stick with me.
    -Cassidy McCarns
    Period 3

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  31. I loved this TED talk and found it very interesting. If you do not put yourself out there, how will you ever find out your your full abilities? You won't know if you're good at something until you try, even if it makes you very uncomfortable, vulnerable. That is definitely a struggle for many people, including myself, trying to get over the fear of being put out of your comfort zone. But really, what's the worst that can happen? Embarrassment? That isn't the worst thing in the world. And if you succeed, you have found talent. But you need to find self worth to have the confidence to put yourself out there. "The one thing that keeps us out of connection is our fear we are not worthy of connection." The only thing that separates people who have love and a sense of belongingness compared to those who don't is that those people believe they are worthy of it. That is what everyone should feel, and it's sad not everyone does. We are all worthy.

    Emma S
    Period 3

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  32. Conor Duffy
    Period: 7

    The interesting part of this topic is that it takes a part of high school students in such a great level. Vulnerability is something that ‘every’ student shares. Everyone has a weakness. Browns statements are important to our connection to the modern society of high school students. He explains that high school students are very vulnerable no matter what group they’re in. Brown says, "Vulnerability is kind of the core of shame, and fear, and our struggle for worthiness, but it appears that it is also the birthplace of joy, of creativity, of belonging, of love." It’s basically the same as insecurity. They both show effects of fear, shame, and the struggle of worthiness.

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  33. All in all, I found this TED talk to be very interesting. I appreciated some of her humor, as she used it sparingly, while still managing to get her point across - effectively for that matter. The main topic of Brown’s talk was vulnerability: a shy topic to no one. She explains this subject in a way that portrays even further the relatability to it by every individual. If you really think about it, Brown is absolutely right. We all tend to feel insecure (which is relatively the same as vulnerable), nervous, or just down-right unworthy at some point in our lives due to someone or something. But why? Why do we allow ourselves to let others tear us down? My mother always says, “Never give anyone the power to make you doubt yourself,” and I believe Brown would agree. If we all try to be a bit more self-confident and realize we can achieve anything we set our minds to, then we will, in fact, become a bit happier, and a bit stronger.
    In the end, Brown said it best. She says, “When we work from a place, I believe, that says, “I’m enough,” then we stop screaming and start listening, we’re kinder and gentler to the people around us, and we’re kinder and gentler to ourselves,” and that’s exactly what we need to do: realize we are worth it, and we truly matter.

    Period 3

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  34. Cameron O'Neill P. 6
    Brown repeatedly talks about the reality of shame: how we all have it, hate to talk about it, etc. More interesting though, was her way of describing how struggle makes us stronger. Everyone understands how hard work makes us better at what we do, but the thought that allowing the outside world to work on us, internally, through openness, will make us stronger, is unique. In talking about this, she says that we can't mask our emotions, yet she also says that our society is deeply affected by the lack of vulnerability. One point of hers which I disagree with was her statement that we should all accept ourselves as "enough". While I know she didn't mean that we need to just accept being better or worse than some people, I feel that being satisfied with who you are, especially at a young age, hurts curiosity and mental growth. Telling yourself that you are enough is in itself protection against vulnerability, making it a bit of a contradiction.

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  35. I enjoyed watching this TED talk and found it very enlightening and insightful. Brown challenges the status quo when she says that vulnerability is a necessity in ones life that we must embrace. Webster's dictionary defines vulnerability as being capable of being being physically and emotionally wounded, and this is exactly how our society perceives vulnerability. Many are uncomfortable with the concept and are afraid what will happen if they let themselves become vulnerable at any given moment. They fear getting hurt so much that it enslaves their own minds. Many put up walls that prevent others from seeing who they truly are, and that is a shame. As put by Brown, "Vulnerability is not weakness. And that myth is profoundly dangerous." I wholehearted agree with her because it doesn't signify weakness. It represents the bravery and courage someone demonstrates when they let their walls come down. Like Brown said, the issue people face is recognizing that we are enough, that we are worth it, and worthy of love, belonging and joy. To quote Brown, "When we numb feelings, we numb joy, we numb gratitude, we numb happiness."
    Period 3. Justin Campos

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  36. I enjoyed listening to the woman speak. I really liked all of her ideas on vulnerability. In one part during her speech she said that people who embrace their vulnerability feel they are more beautiful as well. What she says comes to show what kind of benefits for people come out of vulnerability. Second, many people feel disconnected because they deny their connections through insecurities and problems that they see with themselves. In other words, when people stop worrying about every little thing that they believe is wrong with themselves, they will start to feel more connected with everyone around them. This will open up the door for other feelings as well such as love. In many peoples cases today, it is so hard to find love or the right connection because so many insecurities exist in the majority of people. Once every one gets rid of these insecurities the world will be a much better place.
    Owen K per 8

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  37. I enjoyed this TED talk very much and felt that I was able to connect very well with its message; while vulnerability is often something we fear, it is in fact a very important trait that as humans have and share. Upon beginning the talk I was very skeptical about what Brown was saying. However, she was an excellent speaker and convinced me that having vulnerability in your life isn't a bad thing necessarily, and is often times a good thing. I enjoyed how she incorporated a lot of emotion into her speech and made it very easy to connect to. It is interesting how close minded we as humans can be to something, and how simple it can be to see past the blinding truth. While vulnerability is often times a feared and hated trait, it is in fact very important, and it helps make us the people that we are.

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  38. I absolutely adored this TED talk, it was so universally relatable. All throughout the video the idea of insecurity was brought up. We all at on point or another, most of us even on a day to day basis feel some sort of insecurity. It really forces you to step back and truly try to digest why we as humans allow other humans to make us feel bad about ourselves. On paper it seems like such a no brainer, no words or actions by anyone should make you think less of yourself. However, in reality it isn't so easily put, even the strongest people feel insecure once and a while. The biggest message I took away from this was that you should never let your insecurities keep you from following your dreams and trying something new. As stated by Brown, "Vulnerability is kind of the core of shame, and fear, and our struggle for worthiness, but it appears that it is also the birthplace of joy, of creativity, of belonging, of love." This quote really stuck with me its true that there are negative feelings associated with vulnerability, but if you consider the outcomes it can produce, it almost outweighs the potential negatives it could cause. I know that little phrase "don't let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game" is one we hear all the time, but it was something I kept saying over and over in the back of my mind while watching this video. Its so true, some of the greatest discoveries wouldn't have been made if people had no dared to get out of their comfort zone. We all have our own little niches, but its healthy and vital to try something outside of your comfort zone once and while. You will never know if you like something if you aren't willing to at least try it. There is always that fear of embarrassment, but you have to trust that those you surround yourself with and even people in general won't think less of you or even make fun of you for trying something new. I know its a hard hurdle to jump, but everyone including myself, throughout the video brings up the idea of insecurity. We all at on point or another, most of us even on a day to day basis feel some sort of insecurity. It really forces you to step back and truly try to digest why we as humans allow other humans to make us feel bad about ourselves. On paper it seems like such a no brainer, no words or actions by anyone should make you think less of yourself. However, it reality it isn't so easily put, even the strongest people feel insecure once and a while. The biggest message I took away from this was that you should never let your insecurities keep you from following your dreams and trying something new. As stated by Brown,"Vulnerability is kind of the core of shame, and fear, and our struggle for worthiness, but it appears that it is also the birthplace of joy, of creativity, of belonging, of love." This quote really stuck with me its true that there are negative feelings associated with vulnerability, but if you consider the outcomes it can produce, it almost outweighs the potential negatives I could cause. I know that little phrase "don't let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game" is one we hear all the time, but it was something I kept saying over and over in the back of my mind while watching this video. Its so true, some of the greatest discoveries wouldn't have been made if people had no dared o get out of their comfort zone. We all have our own little niches, but its healthy and vital to try something outside of your comfort zone once and while. You will never know if you like something if you aren't willing to at least try it. There is always that fear of embarrassment, but you have to trust that those you surround yourself with and even people in general won't think less of you or even make fun of you for trying something new. I know its a hard hurdle to jump over, its something everyone faces including myself, but you never go farther in life without standing out of the crowd and putting yourself out their.

    Hailey N.
    Period 3

    ReplyDelete
  39. Sorry it looks like it posted twice in a row not really sure how that happened! I have no idea why it rewrote itself so many times! I am going to repost the right version! I don't know how the one that posted it weird sorry!

    ReplyDelete
  40. THE CORRECT VERSION:
    I absolutely adored this TED talk, it was so universally relatable. All throughout the video the idea of insecurity was brought up. We all at on point or another, most of us even on a day to day basis feel some sort of insecurity. It really forces you to step back and truly try to digest why we as humans allow other humans to make us feel bad about ourselves. On paper it seems like such a no brainer, no words or actions by anyone should make you think less of yourself. However, it reality it isn't so easily put, even the strongest people feel insecure once and a while. The biggest message I took away from this was that you should never let your insecurities keep you from following your dreams and trying something new. As stated by Brown, "Vulnerability is kind of the core of shame, and fear, and our struggle for worthiness, but it appears that it is also the birthplace of joy, of creativity, of belonging, of love." This quote really stuck with me its true that there are negative feelings associated with vulnerability, but if you consider the outcomes it can produce, it almost outweighs the potential negatives I could cause. I know that little phrase "don't let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game" is one we hear all the time, but it was something I kept saying over and over in the back of my mind while watching this video. Its so true, some of the greatest discoveries wouldn't have been made if people had no dared o get out of their comfort zone. We all have our own little niches, but its healthy and vital to try something outside of your comfort zone once and while. You will never know if you like something if you aren't willing to at least try it. There is always that fear of embarrassment, but you have to trust that those you surround yourself with and even people in general won't think less of you or even make fun of you for trying something new. I know its a hard hurdle to jump over, its something everyone faces including myself, but you never go farther in life without standing out of the crowd and putting yourself out their.

    Hailey N.
    Period 3

    ReplyDelete

  41. I enjoyed watching this TED talk because I believe everyone in his/ her life has felt vulnerable and unworthy. Brown expressed that the only thing that keeps people out of connection is that we do not believe we are worthy enough. I believe that through research and experiences, Brown has come to understand the power of vulnerability. Even though, we do not want to feel vulnerable, it is what keeps us alive. "Vulnerability is kind of the core of shame and fear and our struggle for worthiness, but it appears it is also the birthplace of joy, of creativity, of belonging, of love." Brown even stated that she had a breakdown, because vulnerability was a contradiction in itself. Being vulnerable means that we can be connected to one another, not just through shame or fear, but also with compassion and love.We escape feeling vulnerable through addictions, like alcohol. We try to live a guaranteed life, because we do not want to live in fear or disappointments. However, Brown is conveying that we must be willing to embrace what is not guaranteed in life.
    I believe that we exercise our brain, but we are told to shut out emotions and feelings- but compassion, vulnerability, and wholeheartedness does not come from knowledge- it comes from our hearts.
    When she expressed that younger generation of kids are brought up to be "perfect", I could really relate to her. Especially with the standards and pressures of society that is being imposed on children, it makes them feel as though they are not good enough.
    Reitsuma Panta
    Period 3

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  42. I think the TED talk brought up a lot of good points about vulnerability, and I think this is important to bring this theme up. Why? Because this is something we all feel sometimes, but we don't always know the word to put for that feeling. A lot of those feelings goes under vulnerability. Brown tells us about her own feelings and how she had some problems with this feeling, but she also told us that you musn't hide these feelings, but stand them up.
    "Vulnerability is kind of the core of shame, and fear, and our struggle for worthiness, but it appears that it is also the birthplace of joy, of creativity, of belonging, of love." This quote is especially what touched me and I think that it is incredible to explain something this way and I think those are the words that you try to describe the vulnerability feelings, but that you never can put the finger on. All these feelings combined is something that gives people a hard time with vulnerability.

    period 6
    Christian F.

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  43. I very much enjoyed watching The Power Of Vulnerability. So often in today's world everyone puts a significant amount of effort to become perfect. Most people believe that is the way to develop relationships with each other. In actuality, it's our mistakes and how we handle them that defines us. You have to fully embrace vulnerability and stop trying to be who you want to be. This is necessary to be authentic and make connections with others.This enables you to feel other feelings of joy, creativity, belonging, and love.

    Joe R. Period 2

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  44. Throughout this video, Brown made multiple points that struck me as interesting yet unfortunate. The thing that struck me the most was how we associate certain feelings with the opposite. For example, when asked about love people will say their biggest heartbreak. It is yet another example that i have scene of how people generally ignore all the events that were worth remembering if the result is bad. People should focus on the memories and feelings that are good, rather than forgetting those and pitying themselves every time something bad happens.
    Evan Seward P2

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  45. This video truly amazed me on many levels. Brown brings up the ideas of looking toward the future and not weighing down on yourself for what has happened in your past. Each and every person in there life time has experienced what it means to have experienced a state of vunereblility. Be it at a time when a family member dies, or when you're sore after a work out. These times help us learn about ourselves and find what truly makes us strong, which is emotion. Our emotions make us human and fuel our everyday lives. Without weakness we could never work our way up to being strong, which is a valuable lesson for every person to learn.
    Sonny Pr. 6

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  46. Vulnerability is something no one wants to acknowledge. We believe it to make us inferior or not good enough. It is something we all push deep down inside of us so no one, including ourselves, can see it. Brown makes this taboo topic into something to take pride in. Brown states that this vulnerability and emotions not only makes us all human but makes us beautiful. It allows us to connect and share our ideas and thoughts with others, with the understand that we might be hurt along the way. Vulnerability opens many doors for us that otherwise would be closed off.

    Skylar

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  47. Jonathan W period 6

    I thought this TED talk was very accurate and also thought-provoking. People tend to see vulnerability as a bad thing, and they try to numb their lives and avoid the things that make them feel bad or cause them to be potentially hurt. Instead, it's better to fight through the vulnerability and use it to make you a stronger person, which I agree with. I can relate this to some tough points I've had throughout my life, and it reminds me of a quote, "The best way out is always through."

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  48. Karisma Patel
    Period 7
    Brown’s Ted talk brought up many interesting points. She brings up the main concept that ties society together and tears it apart by vulnerability. Through her stories she connects us to each other. She teaches us that we all share vulnerability and shame. Which we actually do because we are vulnerable and we do get put through shame. She had also said those who don’t admit their shame often have less confidence and I do agree with her on that because there are people like that. I feel like we must love ourselves first before we can show it to someone else. I really love how Brown makes all these interesting points and I also liked when she ended by saying, “ You are enough.” Because in reality we are enough, we don’t need to show other people that by doing stuff because simply doing nothing proves that you are enough.

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  49. Mrs. Brown and I are alike in many ways. We both want to "understand things and lay them out for all to see." Mrs. Brown talks about human nature and why she believes we are all here. She isn't so much speaking about vulnerability as she is self confidence and weaknesses. This is more a pep talk, a spirit rally in which she attempts to lighten everyone's moods and lives by using interesting points, humour, and connections with the audience. She teaches the audience to live his or her life the way it is, to eliminate the bad, and to be who you are. She says to embrace any faults that you may have and to love them and live them. Faults are what makes you who you are, so you shouldn't cower away from the mention of them.
    Megan G Period 3

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  50. This TED talk brought up many interesting points about human nature, and how many people strive to be perfect. When, in reality, people should focus on fixing mistakes in their lives, rather than dwell on them. Dwelling on them causes us to feel vulnerable and even shameful sometimes. Its not our mistakes that define us, its how we handle our mistakes to make us a better person. She tells the audience to live as their selves, and to not dwell on our mistakes; vulnerability is something we all deal with in our lives, at one point or another.
    Aidan Deane
    Per 6

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  51. I thought that this Ted Talk brought up multiple good points. Although we often fear vulnerability, it is often what allows us to become stronger and to have new experiences. Without vulnerability we wouldn't be able to know what we are capable of. Many people often try to be perfect and are afraid of failure and making mistakes. However, our mistakes are ussually what make us stronger and allow us to grow. Without vulnerability,many of us wouldn't be the people we are today.
    Harjot Benipal Period 8

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  52. Benjamin Greenvall
    Period 6
    12-16-13
    I, like most people I'm assuming very much liked this weeks Ted Talk. I believe the relate-ability to this talk stems from Brown's expression of vulnerability. Weakness is something that not everyone likes to think about, or address, or even accept the exsistance. However, brown puts vulnerability in the spotlight, under the focal point of what makes us who we are. She clams the our weaknesses make us who we are, individuals. Everyone has their faults and flaws, and I believe that anyone who can make people feel good about what makes them wrong is a very brilliant speaker. It is awesome to think that thin gs that makes us who we are, are thing that make us less than perfect.

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  53. One quote from this TED Talk really made me think: "And when you ask people about connection, the stories they told me were about disconnection." Even when people have experienced incredible connections with others in their lives, they tend to focus on the negatives. I think that this is largely because they want a reason to not be vulnerable. But if people aren't vulnerable, they aren't trying new things and they aren't truly living life to the fullest, by allowing themselves to experience emotions like love and happiness. It is understandable that people are afraid of being vulnerable because they might get hurt, but they are hurting themselves in the process by not being who they really are. As Brown tells us, being vulnerable isn't always a bad thing.
    Jessica L. Period 6

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  54. Jonathan Bodner
    Period 7

    Brown brought up some good points about the human race being vulnerable. She showed how no one can be perfect. Everyone has their own problems they have to face each and everyday of their life. She also said that when people are afraid they become more vulnerable. When people become more afraid they sometimes show no emotion to anyone which could send them into a deep depression, but not always, Brown also states being vulnerable is a good thing as well if it is for certain things.

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  55. When I was watching the video, it deeply affected me. I actually learned a lot about what Brown said, and i made my own personal connections too. "We feel vulnerable because we want to feel accepted". This could not be more true. We all want to feel accepted in society, and when we aren't accepted, we feel vulnerable. People care so much about what others think of them and they don't want to be judged. We always think about the negatives instead of the positives. For example, when people ask us about love, we tell them about heartbreak. I think we need to stop worrying about what others think of us and live life to the fullest.
    Amy B. period 8

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  56. This Ted Talk really put in perspective on how people think and live. I found it very interesting when she brought up asking people about stories of, compassion, love, connection, and belonging. when se would ask these questions people would give her stories about love, they would tell her a heart break story, when she asked about belonging, people gave her stories about trying to fit in but never could. and when you think of it, when ever someone brings up one of these subjects, people always seem to find a negative story to connect to one of those subjects. Connection, people tell about how they lost connection with someone or something. it seems as if no one has anything positive to say anymore. Now days people don't look for a "Happy ever After story". the social media always harps on the heart breaks and the tear jerkers. yes these stories are truthful and make us feel great sympathy, but we always overlook the positives. everyone has their heart breaks, their lost connections and lack of compassion, but then again we all have our people that we have connections to that we love and have compassion for. i just really found it intriguing that she realized this fact and made it a pint of discussion. if everyone stays positive and stops reflecting on the past, then our society as a whole will have a much happier and broader outlook on life.

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  57. I found Brown's lecture very interesting and brought up many points about our human nature. She says that vulnerability is what ties society together and tears it apart. Opening up to others,offering opinions or advice and showing your true selves can be a hard thing to do. Doing this you allow yourself to be criticized, making you vulnerable. Not sharing your opinions you miss out on an important aspect of life. Everyone has their times of vulnerability, its part of our human nature. You need it to learn and grown as a person.
    Rachel C
    period 6

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  58. Brown's take on our society is an interesting one to say the least. I rather like the idea that vulnerability is what ties us together. Her take on vulnerability would lead me to believe that she believes it has strong ties to love and connecting with one another. However, I believe that she may be not completely correct in her thinking that vulnerability itself is what allows humans to form bonds with one another. Vulnerability can lead to one of two things: the first being a connection of some sort, and the other being insecurity. However, I find it very interesting how one could take what she says in her lecture, such as, "Our job is to look and say, 'You know what? You're imperfect, and you're wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging.'" and tie it to the main point of Paper Towns by John Green. The message of that book was that people are imperfect and everybody has flaws as is some of what Brown's lecture was on as well.
    Shoshanna Longo
    Period 6

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