Have you ever wondered what the sound of your voice looks like?
Huh, I bet you're wondering
why this guy is wondering what the sound of his voice looks like.
It's just ... mute.
Sorry, moot point.
I mean, voice can't be seen, can hardly be heard.
Every time I'm talking,
you start listening to yourself, you start tuning me out.
Are you even here?
Are you hearing me?
Are you listening to me?
Sometimes, it's like I've got nothing to say, right?
Everybody knows how this feels.
It's like trying to make something out of nothing
just for the purpose of justifying myself,
but even then ...
I just don't see it.
I could be mad, glad, happy, or sad.
That wouldn't make an ounce of a difference.
Your ignorance, making me restless
and thinking it's best just to turn around,
walk away, have a great day,
but you won't hear, feel, or see that anyway, so,
I'm lost.
And yeah, I've got a question.
What does my voice look like?
A kid grows up learning how to walk, learning how to act, learning how to talk,
only never to be seen, only maybe to be heard,
only to have half of his ideas be shared into the world.
And he gets lost even more between social media,
schools with no voice.
Voice becomes type and seen,
looking like words and letters on a page, in a screen, in a phone.
He either has to join all of that, or he'd be left alone.
No other choices and all these other voices,
but I'm still looking for mine.
What does mine look like?
Humph, and that kid ...
that kid grew up to be me.
With support from all my family,
I learned to see my voice in the physical,
in the lyrical, in the true meaning of it all.
And my voice ...
my voice looks like this:
movements that come from my mind to these footprints,
to these dancers, these artists,
to these stages, and these crowds,
to all these people who never listen or see us or care, but cheer so loud,
who know not to listen, not to give half a chance.
I'm one of the lucky ones.
I could put this all in a dance,
put this all in the moves!
The music that my voice is making right now,
can you see how I'm being seen right now?
Finally, my idea is getting through.
I got you stopped for a split second and control your view.
Your thoughts, your attention is mine.
And all I can hope for is that you open your mind
and try to understand one thing:
we have just been trying
not only to be heard
but also to be seen.
(Applause)