Victoria+B’s+Final+AmEx+2013+Speech



= = =Title of Speech=

Intellectual Curiosity

=Text of Speech=

As the saying goes, 7th times the charm. Yes this is the 7th completely new speech that I have written. This wasn’t meant to be a hard assignment, just think about the American you want to grow up in and talk about for a few minutes. It’s not that I didn’t know what to write about. I had 7 thought out speeches, each a cocktail of rhetoric, extensive metaphors and witty life advice and those were just the few that made it to paper. I had ideas for sappy speeches, funny ones, and ones that were downright depressing. You name, I got it. Turns out I had a lot to say. Every time I would recite my temporary speech I would realize that I had bigger plans for America. This was not only my future that I was deciding but the whole countries- no pressure right? My mind was overrun with ideas! How could I better humanity through my final speech at the end of my junior year? What do I want from the future America?

Well I want more speeches. No, I don’t want to waste your time in the future telling you what’s on my mind as I standing here squawking like a 13 year old boy. In the America that I grow up in I want there to be more opportunities like this to think about something abstract. When in the future do you see yourself pondering at the breakfast table whether the country should foster economic dynamism or social equality? Or as you lean in to that perfect kiss asking yourself if you are really in love or if it is just chemicals? In the America that I grow up in I don’t want the intellectual curiosity to stop when we enter the real world. Let’s face it we will be so busy trying to survive that we will let that part of our brain that questions everything turn to mush. In the real world people who always question things are seen as disrespectful and really annoying. We have so much information coming in and out that we often forget to process it at a deeper level. We let it just scratch the surface without questioning the reasoning behind it. But why? Yes I was one of those obnoxious little kids that questioned everything and wanted to know the reason behind everything. I was fascinated by the world. But when the adults ran out of answers I was told that curiosity killed the cat. No maybe the cat was just stupid. Curiosity is not a murder. How are supposed to learn anything in life without being curious about it?

I want the future America to foster an environment that encourages intellectual curiously. Where staring off into space thinking about how sand is really just billions of tiny rocks and how overrated it is or laying on your bed questioning the human’s role in the ecosystem isn’t considered a waste of time. How often do you do absolutely nothing but think about the world and question every aspect of it? That’s where genius ideas are hatch, in the mist of our curiosity. Curiosity is the spark behind every great idea. Curiosity makes you question well what if? Why does that happen? How can I make this better? In a society that does not value those who question the world and instead just goes through the same motions day after day, how will these sparks be made? Einstein once said “I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious”. I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t mind growing up in an America with a bunch of Einsteins.

=Cite Your Sources=
 * My brain
 * [|Einstein's brain]