0:00:09.070,0:00:10.810
Thank you so much.

0:00:12.390,0:00:14.199
I am a journalist.[br]

0:00:14.539,0:00:18.029
My job is to talk to people[br]from all walks of life,

0:00:18.239,0:00:19.919
all over the world.

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Today, I want to tell you

0:00:21.439,0:00:25.740
why I decided to do this with my life[br]and what I've learned.

0:00:26.580,0:00:29.429
My story begins in Caracas, Venezuela,

0:00:29.479,0:00:31.899
in South America, where I grew up;

0:00:32.119,0:00:35.000
a place that to me was,[br]and always will be,

0:00:35.000,0:00:36.950
filled with magic and wonder.

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Frоm a very young age,

0:00:39.070,0:00:42.600
my parents wanted me[br]to have a wider view of the world.

0:00:43.160,0:00:46.350
I remember one time[br]when I was around seven years old,

0:00:46.430,0:00:48.610
my dad came up to me and said,

0:00:48.610,0:00:52.220
"Mariana, I'm going to send you[br]and your little sister..."

0:00:52.230,0:00:54.010
- who was six at the time -

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"...to a place where nobody[br]speaks Spanish.

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I want you to experience[br]different cultures."

0:00:59.920,0:01:03.839
He went on and on about the benefits[br]of spending an entire summer

0:01:03.839,0:01:06.620
in this summer camp in the United States,

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stressing a little phrase

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that I didn't pay [br]too much attention to at the time:

0:01:11.829,0:01:14.480
"You never know what the future holds."

0:01:14.850,0:01:17.480
Meanwhile, in my seven-year-old mind,

0:01:17.480,0:01:21.110
I was thinking, we were going[br]to get to summer camp in Miami.

0:01:21.110,0:01:22.050
(Laughter)

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Maybe it was going to be even better,

0:01:24.700,0:01:27.910
and we were going to go[br]a little further north, to Orlando,

0:01:27.960,0:01:29.539
where Mickey Mouse lived.

0:01:29.539,0:01:30.279
(Laughter)

0:01:30.279,0:01:31.630
I got really excited.

0:01:32.100,0:01:35.120
My dad, however,[br]had a slightly different plan.

0:01:35.580,0:01:39.710
Frоm Caracas, he he sent us[br]to Brainerd, Minnesota.

0:01:39.720,0:01:41.070
(Laughter)

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Mickey Mouse was not up there,

0:01:43.260,0:01:44.270
(Laughter)

0:01:44.270,0:01:47.830
and with no cell phone,[br]no Snapchat, or Instagram,

0:01:47.830,0:01:49.940
I couldn't look up any information.

0:01:50.460,0:01:51.460
We got there,

0:01:51.460,0:01:53.289
and one of the first things I noticed

0:01:53.289,0:01:56.530
was that the other kids' hair[br]was several shades of blonde,

0:01:56.750,0:01:58.910
and most of them had blue eyes.

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Meanwhile, this is what we looked like.

0:02:03.089,0:02:06.970
The first night, the camp director[br]gathered everyone around the campfire

0:02:07.000,0:02:08.180
and said,

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"Kids, we have a very[br]international camp this year;

0:02:12.170,0:02:14.770
the Atencios are here from Venezuela."

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(Laughter)

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The other kids looked at us[br]as if we were from another planet.

0:02:19.890,0:02:21.750
They would ask us things like,

0:02:22.010,0:02:24.080
"Do you know what a hamburger is?"

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Or, "Do you go to school[br]on a donkey or a canoe?"

0:02:27.890,0:02:28.700
(Laughter)

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I would try to answer[br]in my broken English,

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and they would just laugh.

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I know they were not trying to be mean;

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they were just trying[br]to understand who we were,

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and make a correlation[br]with the world they knew.

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We could either be like them,

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or like characters out of a book[br]filled with adventures,

0:02:44.900,0:02:47.250
like Aladdin or the Jungle Book.

0:02:47.600,0:02:49.369
We certainly didn't look like them,

0:02:49.589,0:02:51.460
we didn't speak their language,

0:02:51.480,0:02:52.650
we were different.

0:02:52.690,0:02:55.219
When you're seven years old, that hurts.

0:02:55.749,0:02:58.469
But I had my little sister[br]to take care of,

0:02:58.469,0:03:01.060
and she cried every day at summer camp.

0:03:01.120,0:03:03.639
So I decided to put on a brave face,

0:03:03.789,0:03:07.400
and embrace everything I could[br]about the American way of life.

0:03:08.060,0:03:11.300
We later did what we called[br]"the summer camp experiment,"

0:03:11.370,0:03:16.260
for eight years in different cities[br]that many Americans haven't even heard of.

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What I remember most about these moments[br]was when I finally clicked with someone.

0:03:22.230,0:03:25.590
Making a friend was a special reward.

0:03:26.200,0:03:28.900
Everybody wants to feel[br]valued and accepted,

0:03:28.900,0:03:32.870
and we think it should happen[br]spontaneously, but it doesn't.

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When you're different,[br]you have to work at belonging.

0:03:37.250,0:03:40.590
You have to be either[br]really helpful, smart, funny,

0:03:40.990,0:03:44.730
anything to be cool for the crowd[br]you want to hang out with.

0:03:45.490,0:03:47.280
Later on, when I was in high school,

0:03:47.330,0:03:50.070
my dad expanded on his summer plan,

0:03:50.300,0:03:53.790
and from Caracas he sent me[br]to Wallingford, Connecticut,

0:03:53.790,0:03:55.760
for the senior year of high school.

0:03:56.060,0:03:59.030
This time, I remember[br]daydreaming on the plane

0:03:59.050,0:04:03.640
about "the American high school[br]experience" - with a locker.

0:04:03.890,0:04:05.210
It was going to be perfect,

0:04:05.210,0:04:08.020
just like in my favorite TV show:[br]"Saved by the Bell."

0:04:08.070,0:04:09.020
(Laughter)

0:04:09.800,0:04:11.499
I get there, and they tell me

0:04:11.499,0:04:14.810
that my assigned roommate[br]is eagerly waiting.

0:04:15.530,0:04:16.620
I opened the door,

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and there she was, sitting on the bed,

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with a headscarf.

0:04:22.380,0:04:25.370
Her name was Fatima,[br]and she was Muslim from Bahrain,

0:04:25.370,0:04:27.740
and she was not what I expected.

0:04:28.090,0:04:31.070
She probably sensed my disappointment[br]when I looked at her

0:04:31.070,0:04:33.960
because I didn't do too much to hide it.

0:04:34.890,0:04:37.400
See, as a teenager,[br]I wanted to fit in even more,

0:04:37.400,0:04:39.430
I wanted to be popular,

0:04:39.430,0:04:42.249
maybe have a boyfriend for prom,

0:04:42.469,0:04:45.090
and I felt that Fatima just got in the way

0:04:45.090,0:04:47.810
with her shyness[br]and her strict dress code.

0:04:49.330,0:04:51.690
I didn't realize[br]that I was making her feel

0:04:52.120,0:04:54.230
like the kids at summer camp made me feel.

0:04:54.760,0:04:57.430
This was the high school[br]equivalent of asking her,

0:04:57.540,0:04:59.970
"Do you know what a hamburger is?"

0:05:00.260,0:05:02.540
I was consumed by my own selfishness

0:05:02.540,0:05:05.360
and unable to put myself in her shoes.

0:05:06.500,0:05:08.410
I have to be honest with you,

0:05:08.690,0:05:11.150
we only lasted a couple[br]of months together,

0:05:11.200,0:05:14.130
because she was later sent[br]to live with a counselor

0:05:14.130,0:05:15.959
instead of other students.

0:05:16.189,0:05:19.140
I remember thinking, "Ah, she'll be okay.

0:05:19.190,0:05:20.850
She's just different."

0:05:21.590,0:05:23.660
You see, when we label[br]someone as different,

0:05:23.740,0:05:25.800
it dehumanizes them in a way.

0:05:26.050,0:05:27.870
They become "the other."

0:05:27.940,0:05:31.020
They're not worthy of our time,[br]not our problem,

0:05:31.020,0:05:36.430
and in fact, they, "the other,"[br]are probably the cause of our problems.

0:05:37.280,0:05:40.010
So, how do we recognize our blind spots?

0:05:40.470,0:05:45.010
It begins by understanding[br]what makes you different,

0:05:45.130,0:05:47.130
by embracing those traits.

0:05:47.610,0:05:52.070
Only then can you begin to appreciate[br]what makes others special.

0:05:52.910,0:05:54.470
I remember when this hit me.

0:05:54.490,0:05:56.810
It was a couple months after that.

0:05:56.810,0:05:58.910
I had found that boyfriend for prom,

0:05:58.910,0:06:00.280
made a group of friends,

0:06:00.280,0:06:02.990
and practically forgotten about Fatima,

0:06:02.990,0:06:07.200
until everybody signed on to participate[br]in this talent show for charity.

0:06:07.420,0:06:10.180
You needed to offer a talent for auction.

0:06:10.220,0:06:14.190
It seemed like everybody[br]had something special to offer.

0:06:14.350,0:06:16.630
Some kids were going to play the violin,

0:06:16.630,0:06:19.310
others were going to recite[br]a theater monologue,

0:06:19.710,0:06:21.250
and I remember thinking,

0:06:21.250,0:06:24.220
"We don't practice talents[br]like these back home."

0:06:24.240,0:06:27.269
But I was determined[br]to find something of value.

0:06:27.609,0:06:29.499
The day of the talent show comes,

0:06:29.499,0:06:31.649
and I get up on stage[br]with my little boom box,

0:06:31.649,0:06:34.320
and put it on the side and press "Play,"

0:06:34.320,0:06:39.050
and a song by my favorite[br]emerging artist, Shakira, comes up.

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And I go, "Whenever, wherever,[br]we're meant to be together,"

0:06:44.589,0:06:49.399
and I said, "My name is Mariana,[br]and I'm going to auction a dance class."

0:06:50.199,0:06:53.889
It seemed like the whole school[br]raised their hand to bid.

0:06:54.249,0:06:56.119
My dance class really stood out

0:06:56.119,0:06:59.160
from, like, the 10th violin class[br]offered that day.

0:06:59.540,0:07:02.650
Going back to my dorm room,[br]I didn't feel different.

0:07:02.689,0:07:04.399
I felt really special.

0:07:04.969,0:07:08.269
That's when I started[br]thinking about Fatima,

0:07:08.349,0:07:12.559
a person that I had failed to see[br]as special, when I first met her.

0:07:13.229,0:07:14.740
She was from the Middle East,

0:07:14.740,0:07:17.349
just like Shakira's family[br]was from the Middle East.

0:07:17.379,0:07:20.949
She could have probably taught me[br]a thing or two about belly dancing,

0:07:20.949,0:07:22.780
had I been open to it.

0:07:23.550,0:07:25.490
Now, I want you all to take that sticker

0:07:25.490,0:07:28.390
that was given to you [br]at the beginning of our session today,

0:07:28.390,0:07:30.530
where you wrote down[br]what makes you special,

0:07:30.530,0:07:32.299
and I want you to look at it.

0:07:32.409,0:07:34.799
If you're watching at home,[br]take a piece of paper,

0:07:34.799,0:07:37.369
and write down what makes you different.

0:07:38.399,0:07:40.360
You may feel guarded when you look at it,

0:07:40.370,0:07:43.339
maybe even a little ashamed,[br]maybe even proud.

0:07:44.189,0:07:46.409
But you need to begin to embrace it.

0:07:46.739,0:07:51.910
Remember, it is the first step[br]in appreciating what makes others special.

0:07:52.830,0:07:55.049
When I went back home to Venezuela,

0:07:55.049,0:07:59.609
I began to understand[br]how these experiences were changing me.

0:08:00.259,0:08:02.880
Being able to speak different languages,[br]

0:08:02.880,0:08:06.750
to navigate all these[br]different people and places,

0:08:07.240,0:08:09.590
it gave me a unique sensibility.

0:08:09.800,0:08:11.750
I was finally beginning to understand

0:08:11.750,0:08:15.359
the importance of putting myself[br]in other people's shoes.

0:08:16.109,0:08:21.040
That is a big part of the reason[br]why I decided to become a journalist.

0:08:21.250,0:08:26.130
Especially being from a part of the world[br]that is often labeled "the backyard,"

0:08:26.130,0:08:29.020
"the illegal aliens,"[br]"third-world," "the others,"

0:08:29.549,0:08:32.179
I wanted to do something to change that.

0:08:32.779,0:08:34.609
It was right around the time, however,

0:08:34.609,0:08:36.960
when the Venezuelan government shut down

0:08:36.960,0:08:39.150
the biggest television station[br]in our country.

0:08:39.800,0:08:41.428
Censorship was growing,

0:08:41.988,0:08:44.668
and my dad came up to me[br]once again and said,

0:08:44.748,0:08:47.000
"How are you going to be[br]a journalist here?

0:08:47.450,0:08:48.850
You have to leave."

0:08:49.350,0:08:50.949
That's when it hit me.

0:08:51.349,0:08:54.069
That's what he had been preparing me for.

0:08:54.419,0:08:56.970
That is what the future held for me.

0:08:57.710,0:09:02.969
So in 2008, I packed my bags,[br]and I came to the United States,

0:09:03.759,0:09:05.859
without a return ticket this time.

0:09:06.729,0:09:10.049
I was painfully aware[br]that, at 24 years old,

0:09:10.049,0:09:15.340
I was becoming a refugee of sorts,[br]an immigrant, the other,

0:09:15.420,0:09:18.410
once again, and now for good.

0:09:19.340,0:09:22.920
I was able to come on a scholarship[br]to study journalism.

0:09:23.260,0:09:26.300
I remember when they gave me[br]my first assignment

0:09:26.640,0:09:30.490
to cover the historic election[br]of President Barack Obama.

0:09:31.110,0:09:33.500
I felt so lucky, so hopeful.

0:09:33.500,0:09:35.210
I was, like, "Yes, this is it.

0:09:35.210,0:09:37.670
I've come to post-racial America,

0:09:37.670,0:09:40.760
where the notion of us and them[br]is being eroded,

0:09:40.760,0:09:43.759
and will probably[br]be eradicated in my lifetime."

0:09:45.359,0:09:48.450
Boy, was I wrong, right?

0:09:49.420,0:09:54.100
Why didn't Barack Obama's presidency[br]alleviate racial tensions in our country?

0:09:54.490,0:09:56.899
Why do some people still feel threatened

0:09:56.899,0:10:00.129
by immigrants, LGBTQ, and minority groups

0:10:00.129,0:10:02.649
who are just trying to find a space

0:10:02.649,0:10:05.569
in this United States[br]that should be for all of us?

0:10:06.279,0:10:08.090
I didn't have the answers back then,

0:10:08.900,0:10:11.580
but on November 8th, 2016,

0:10:11.580,0:10:15.029
when Donald Trump became[br]our president, it became clear

0:10:15.029,0:10:18.750
that a large part of the electorate[br]sees them as "the others."

0:10:18.960,0:10:21.819
Some see people coming to take their jobs,

0:10:21.819,0:10:24.869
or potential terrorists[br]who speak a different language.

0:10:25.719,0:10:31.550
Meanwhile, minority groups oftentimes[br]just see hatred, intolerance,

0:10:31.550,0:10:34.149
and narrow-mindedness on the other side.

0:10:34.869,0:10:38.379
It's like we're stuck in these bubbles[br]that nobody wants to burst.

0:10:39.209,0:10:42.400
The only way to do it,[br]the only way to get out of it

0:10:42.420,0:10:47.500
is to realize that being different[br]also means thinking differently.

0:10:48.020,0:10:50.490
It takes courage to show respect.

0:10:51.200,0:10:52.830
In the words of Voltaire:

0:10:53.010,0:10:55.540
"I may not agree[br]with what you have to say,

0:10:55.540,0:10:59.500
but I will fight to the death[br]to defend your right to say it."

0:11:00.860,0:11:03.280
Failing to see anything good[br]on the other side

0:11:03.440,0:11:05.550
makes a dialogue impossible.

0:11:05.810,0:11:09.230
Without a dialogue, we will keep[br]repeating the same mistakes,

0:11:09.230,0:11:12.090
because we will not learn anything new.

0:11:13.210,0:11:17.390
I covered the 2016 election for NBC News.

0:11:17.560,0:11:21.540
It was my first big assignment[br]in this mainstream network,

0:11:21.540,0:11:24.470
where I had crossed over[br]from Spanish television.

0:11:25.350,0:11:27.860
And I wanted to do something different.

0:11:28.220,0:11:32.100
I watched election results[br]with undocumented families.

0:11:33.360,0:11:37.360
Few thought of sharing that moment[br]with people who weren't citizens,

0:11:37.670,0:11:40.790
but actually stood[br]the most to lose that night.

0:11:42.470,0:11:45.020
When it became apparent[br]that Donald Trump was winning,

0:11:45.400,0:11:49.240
this eight-year-old girl named Angelina[br]rushed up to me in tears.

0:11:49.970,0:11:53.860
She sobbed, and she asked me[br]if her mom was going to be deported now.

0:11:54.530,0:11:57.410
I hugged her back and I said,[br]"It's going to be okay,"

0:11:57.950,0:11:59.820
but I really didn't know.

0:12:00.030,0:12:04.760
This was the photo we took that night,[br]forever ingrained in my heart.

0:12:05.450,0:12:06.820
Here was this little girl

0:12:06.820,0:12:10.520
who was around the same age I was[br]when I went to camp in Brainerd.

0:12:11.400,0:12:13.580
She already knows she is "the other."

0:12:13.980,0:12:16.970
She walks home from school[br]in fear, every day,

0:12:17.030,0:12:19.160
that her mom can be taken away.

0:12:19.940,0:12:22.990
So, how do we put ourselves[br]in Angelina's shoes?

0:12:23.620,0:12:26.770
How do we make her[br]understand she is special,

0:12:26.820,0:12:30.440
and not simply unworthy[br]of having her family together?

0:12:32.490,0:12:36.120
By giving camera time to her[br]and families like hers,

0:12:36.520,0:12:40.040
I tried to make people see them[br]as human beings,

0:12:40.040,0:12:42.060
and not simply "illegal aliens."

0:12:42.670,0:12:45.910
Yes, they broke a law, [br]and they should pay a penalty for it,

0:12:46.440,0:12:49.210
but they've also given[br]everything for this country,

0:12:49.210,0:12:51.730
like many other immigrants[br]before them have.

0:12:53.040,0:12:56.600
I've already told you how my path[br]to personal growth started.

0:12:57.280,0:13:01.740
To end, I want to tell you how I hit[br]the worst bump in the road yet,

0:13:02.110,0:13:04.710
one that shook me to my very core.

0:13:05.270,0:13:08.440
The day, April 10th, 2014,

0:13:09.410,0:13:13.430
I was driving to the studio,[br]and I got a call from my parents.

0:13:13.580,0:13:15.790
"Are you on the air?" they asked.

0:13:15.790,0:13:17.950
I immediately knew something was wrong.

0:13:17.950,0:13:19.680
"What happened?" I said.

0:13:20.370,0:13:23.460
"It's your sister;[br]she's been in a car accident."

0:13:24.910,0:13:28.000
It was as if my heart stopped.

0:13:29.270,0:13:31.480
My hands gripped the steering wheel,

0:13:31.500,0:13:33.350
and I remember hearing the words:

0:13:33.500,0:13:36.480
"It is unlikely she will ever walk again."

0:13:37.580,0:13:40.360
They say your life can change[br]in a split second.

0:13:41.360,0:13:43.530
Mine did at that moment.

0:13:44.220,0:13:48.040
My sister went from being[br]my successful other half,

0:13:48.040,0:13:49.930
only a year apart in age,

0:13:49.930,0:13:53.030
to not being able to move her legs,

0:13:53.620,0:13:56.400
sit up, or get dressed by herself.

0:13:57.100,0:14:00.680
This wasn't like summer camp,[br]where I could magically make it better.

0:14:01.130,0:14:02.730
This was terrifying.

0:14:03.940,0:14:08.420
Throughout the course of two years,[br]my sister underwent 15 surgeries,

0:14:08.690,0:14:11.160
and she spent the most[br]of that time in a wheelchair.

0:14:12.170,0:14:14.410
But that wasn't even the worst of it.

0:14:14.750,0:14:20.250
The worst was something so painful,[br]it's hard to put into words, even now.

0:14:21.070,0:14:24.110
It was the way people looked at her,

0:14:24.960,0:14:27.560
looked at us, changed.

0:14:28.500,0:14:32.650
People were unable to see[br]a successful lawyer

0:14:32.950,0:14:36.940
or a millennial with a sharp wit[br]and a kind heart.

0:14:37.600,0:14:39.220
Everywhere we went,

0:14:39.550,0:14:42.900
I realized that people just saw[br]a poor girl in a wheelchair.

0:14:43.180,0:14:46.378
They were unable to see[br]anything beyond that.

0:14:48.440,0:14:50.390
After fighting like a warrior,

0:14:50.390,0:14:54.700
I can thankfully tell you[br]that today my sister is walking,

0:14:55.150,0:14:58.140
and has recovered[br]beyond anyone's expectations.

0:14:58.380,0:14:59.760
(Applause)

0:14:59.810,0:15:00.940
Thank you.

0:15:02.840,0:15:05.150
But during that traumatic ordeal,

0:15:05.150,0:15:07.930
I learned there are differences[br]that simply suck,

0:15:08.750,0:15:11.329
and it's hard to find positive in them.

0:15:11.549,0:15:14.309
My sister's not better off[br]because of what happened.

0:15:15.859,0:15:21.020
But she taught me: you can't let[br]those differences define you.

0:15:22.510,0:15:27.380
Being able to reimagine yourself[br]beyond what other people see,

0:15:28.240,0:15:30.289
that is the toughest task of all,

0:15:30.889,0:15:32.979
but it's also the most beautiful.

0:15:34.109,0:15:37.049
You see, we all come[br]to this world in a body.

0:15:37.559,0:15:40.900
People with physical[br]or neurological difficulties,

0:15:41.250,0:15:46.490
environmentally impacted communities,[br]immigrants, boys, girls,

0:15:47.049,0:15:50.110
boys who want to dress as girls,[br]girls with veils,

0:15:50.790,0:15:52.730
women who have been sexually assaulted,

0:15:52.730,0:15:55.500
athletes who bend[br]their knee as a sign of protest,

0:15:55.930,0:16:01.530
black, white, Asian, Native American,[br]my sister, you, or me.

0:16:02.140,0:16:06.570
We all want what everyone wants:[br]to dream and to achieve.

0:16:07.730,0:16:11.319
But sometimes, society tells us,[br]and we tell ourselves,

0:16:11.369,0:16:13.109
we don't fit the mold.

0:16:15.029,0:16:16.860
Well, if you look at my story,

0:16:17.130,0:16:21.199
from being born somewhere different,[br]to belly dancing in high school,

0:16:21.209,0:16:24.259
to telling stories[br]you wouldn't normally see on TV,

0:16:25.269,0:16:26.830
what makes me different

0:16:26.830,0:16:30.650
is what has made me[br]stand out and be successful.

0:16:32.110,0:16:33.700
I have traveled the world,

0:16:33.790,0:16:36.249
and talked to people[br]from all walks of life.

0:16:36.559,0:16:38.599
You know what I've learned?

0:16:39.129,0:16:44.940
The single thing every one of us[br]has in common is being human.

0:16:46.160,0:16:50.680
So take a stand to defend[br]your race, the human race.

0:16:51.350,0:16:52.770
Let's appeal to it.

0:16:53.140,0:16:57.170
Let's be humanists,[br]before and after everything else.

0:16:58.079,0:17:01.330
To end, I want you to take that sticker,[br]that piece of paper

0:17:01.330,0:17:03.590
where you wrote down[br]what makes you different,

0:17:03.920,0:17:06.719
and I want you to celebrate it[br]today and every day,

0:17:07.129,0:17:09.079
shout it from the rooftops.

0:17:09.420,0:17:12.270
I also encourage you[br]to be curious and ask,

0:17:12.380,0:17:14.530
"What is on other people's[br]pieces of paper?"

0:17:14.950,0:17:16.750
"What makes them different?"

0:17:17.260,0:17:21.429
Let's celebrate those imperfections[br]that make us special.

0:17:22.379,0:17:27.560
I hope that it teaches you that nobody[br]has a claim on the word "normal."

0:17:28.100,0:17:29.700
We are all different.

0:17:29.950,0:17:32.110
We are all quirky, and unique,

0:17:32.710,0:17:36.420
and that is what makes us[br]wonderfully human.

0:17:36.730,0:17:38.030
Thank you so much.

0:17:38.040,0:17:40.669
(Applause)