Being vulnerable and showing emotions are often viewed as signs of weakness and met with judgment in today's society. In turn, the arts of masking true emotions, insecurities and weaknesses have become second nature. In this talk, Thembe challenges societal conceptions of vulnerability, suggesting contrary to popular belief, that being vulnerable could be a positive thing. She does so with a smooth blend of speech and poetry.

Thembe is a student of Comparative Literature and Cultural studies at the University. As a well versed spoken word artist and poet, she believes in the power of words to inspire. From having her first poem published at the young age of 15, she has continued to perform poetry at cultural festivals, feature in poetry slams, run spoken word workshops and is currently developing a poetry radio show!

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx