How Youngs Carry Where They're From While Learning How to Leave | Zoe Yu | TEDxArbutus Ridge Youth

Zoe Yu, speaking at TEDxArbutus Ridge Youth, looks at how the people, places and memories of the past shape who we become as we grow up. Drawing on personal experiences of change, outdoor adventures and shifting identities, she considers what is worth keeping, what can be reimagined and what can be left behind. The talk asks what we owe the person we used to be when growing up means becoming someone new.

• Growing up as a process of choosing what to keep, reimagine or leave behind
• Personal experiences of change, outdoor adventures and shifting identities
• How memory and past relationships continue to shape identity

“Growing up requires a kind of curation: learning what still fits, what can be reimagined, and what we are finally ready to leave behind.” Through personal experiences of change, outdoor adventures, and shifting identities, Zoe Yu explores how the people, places, and memories from our past continue to shape who we become. As she reminds us, “You don’t have to preserve something for it to have mattered.” My name is Zoe Yu, and you’ll usually find me doing commercial dance, choreographing, mountain biking way too fast down trails in Squamish, babysitting kids, or petting cats despite being allergic to them. I love anything that involves friends, a little adrenaline, movement, or music. If growing up means becoming someone new, what do we owe the person we used to be? In my TEDx talk, I explore how memory, identity, and change shape what we choose to carry forward. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx