It’s 11:30 PM right now on Thursday, April 25, 2019, and I am so ready to go to sleep, but first I have to jot down my memories from this magical day. It wasn’t just any other day; today was WE Day! Today marked my third WE Day. I’ve attended WE Day as a youth two times, but this time was something special. Today was more than just WE Day though.  Today, I spoke confidently in front of over 17,000 youth leaders and educators who have been invited to WE Day for making a global and local change. In the past, my stomach would be full of butterflies, having to mentally think about what I wanted to say and needing the courage to say what I wanted to say. In elementary school, whenever we did an activity called “popcorn reading” where students went around the room to read one sentence of the book we were reading, I would always mentally recite the sentence at least a hundred times until I could say it perfectly in my head without messing it up. Even in middle school, when my Chinese had poetry competitions where I had to recite a poem to a room of judges, my entire body from head to toe would start trembling and shaking because I was always so scared. I remember during my first Chinese poetry competition when I began reciting the poem, I bursted into tears because I was so scared to speak in front of so many judges who all looked so scary to elementary and middle school me. Today was different in a way that I was free from a script; I myself was the script. My mind, heart, and emotions were my script.

You can’t buy a ticket to WE Day. And you can’t buy a ticket to speaking at WE Day, either. Today not only marked a day of my own personal growth but also my opportunity to become a youth influencer on stage was truly a wonderful feeling. The day began with me shutting off my alarm for 5:45 AM and then we headed for The Forum. Once we arrived over an hour and a half later, we entered through the Honored Guest entrance and then the adventure began. 

As we entered the actual Forum where all the 17,000 seats were filled with passionate students, I have to admit, my stomach felt really queasy. I could not believe it when we first entered. The crowd was roaring at the center of the stadium as the show host Neil Patrick Harris made his entrance. My heart was beating easily a million beats a minute and I was dreading for 1:20 PM to come around because that was my showtime. 

There were a few booths around the outside of the Forum stadium. My family and I immediately noticed a booth to take photos to print out, and of course, my dad wanted to go to this booth. My support system on this day was essential to my growth. Once my WE Support Staff Member named Mack called me to say that he was ready to take me backstage to get ready, my heart raced across the stadium and back. I could not believe that I would be sharing the stage with all of these inspirational leaders.

Even though I had given much thought about what I would say today and I could even rely on the teleprompters if I really had to, I was still nervous! When I was escorted to the Hair and Makeup room, I felt completely overwhelmed by all of the attention that I received and all the people staring at me. The Hair and Makeup team had previously been working with Meghan Trainor and Selena Gomez, but now, they were working with me. 

While my hairstylist was perfecting my hair, the makeup artist also applied makeup on me. After my hair was styled and my makeup was complete, I looked like a whole new person. Looking into the mirror, I thought to myself that this is what confidence looked like. After our quick hair and makeup stop, we were ready to walk to backstage to wait for standby. Since there was extra time, we were able to watch Meghan Trainor perform her song right before I was going on stage. 

It was finally time to go on the stage!!! An explosion of feelings rushed through my body, from extreme nervousness to great excitement. On one hand, I’d be sharing the same stage as people such as Neil Patrick Harris and Hailee Steinfeld, but on the other hand, this was my first time speaking to over 17,000 people! After Meghan Trainor finished performing, it was my turn to have my chance in the spotlight.

Today, I spoke about my experience on the ME to WE Trip in the Amazon in Ecuador. A rush of adrenaline and burst of confidence filled my body with happiness as I continued talking about my experience in the Amazon. I did not look even once at the teleprompters, but instead my heart and my memories were the best teleprompters that I could have asked for. I soon realized that behind me, there were pictures from my trip with my best friend that I met during the trip. My best friend that I met was named Dayeli. I met Dayeli in the Bellavista community and she was the most adorable and genuine girl that I have ever met. A six-year-old girl who first ran up to me with a bouncy ball asking me to play with her, I, of course, wanted to talk about her during my speech. Talking about her during my speech was so nostalgic; I wanted to teleport Dayeli over to the stage so that I could play with her again and tell her that I still think of her and her community every single day.

I finished my speech and walked off of the stage while hearing the sound of the thunder-clapping audience and this feeling that I felt today is indescribable. A rush of adrenaline, a rush of happiness, and a rush of accomplishment flowed through my body. I shared my experiences with a whole stadium today!!! I felt so proud of myself for standing on stage, so confidently.