Austin+S’s+Final+AmEx+2015+Speech

=//__**Suggestions for the Unhappy**__//=

===When I decided to begin work on this speech, I met extreme frustration. This frustration led to somewhat of an internal crisis that carried on late through the night. I will share this so called crisis with you, presenting it as my speech. Late night thoughts can often be the most revealing and honest. Admittedly they can also be the dumbest and most ridiculous. Let's find out how it went.===

=== My eyes hurt. I have sat at this godforsaken desk, in this godforsaken chair, staring at this godforsaken screen for 8 hours and written 10, full drafts of this godforsaken speech. I throw myself on my couch and stare at a spot on my ceiling with such rage and intensity I grow concerned that my gaze will pierce all the way through the attic and cause the great plastic tubs filled with Christmas lights to fall upon me from above. I look elsewhere to avoid this. ===

=== I second guess myself because I feel like I need to. My life has always been a constant striving to escape the label of “average”. I hate being normal, predictable, uninteresting. And so I chase the mirage of my potential best self. An above-average, even incredible Austin. A person that I think others will respect. ===

=== But that is not what I want. I do not want to spend my life trying to be someone else’s idea of perfect. Perfection is something that is subjective, and rather than trying to be what others want me to be, I realize that I would be much happier being what I want to be. Why should I make myself miserable just to please others? ===

=== And so I share this cliche speech about life without any intention to impress any of you. I don’t care if you think what I am saying is dumb and meaningless. I don’t care if you have enjoyed every word I have said so far. Writing and saying these words have made me happy. Admittedly much of that happiness is from the fact that this is the last thing I pretty much have to do before summer begins. But that is beside the point. ===

=== In short, I want to live in a happier world. The America I want to grow old in is one where people accept themselves for who they are, but still want to always be better. Not better in the eyes of the faceless masses, the criticizing peers. Better in their own eyes and the eyes of the few they truly care about. ===

=== I want people to come to terms with themselves, as I have done while writing this speech. In my opinion the best way to reach your best, happiest self, capable of surrounding yourself with true, beloved friends, is to be alone. What I found is that I am only happy now because I was alone for so long. I completely isolated myself for roughly a year and a half, quietly sitting in my room avoiding responsibilities. All I wanted was silence. For the constant and intolerable noise of life to die down. I became my own best friend. ===

=== So, in order for my vision of an ideal America to become a reality, I want those who were once unhappy, like I was, to not be afraid or ashamed to be their own best friends. At least for a time. In my year long period of self evaluation I learned to appreciate myself. Don’t get me wrong, I will be one of the first people to say that I am cynical, disrespectful, and often inappropriate. There are many things about me that I hate and want to change. But there are also, now, parts of me that I have finally learned to love. A specific list of attributes that I will hold to myself as to avoid sounding narcissistic. ===

=== I believe that people can not truly learn to love and appreciate others without doing the same for themselves. I want a world of people aware of their strengths, and eager to fix only the weaknesses that can be changed. Over the past year, I have finally ended my life of self loathing and regret. The result has been several months in which I have been overwhelmed with more love and happiness than I have experienced in the entirety of all previous years of my still short life. I realize that every word I have said thus far makes perfect sense to me, but may seem contradictory and incoherent to you. That is kind of just how my brain works. A quality of my thought process that is often frustrating, but I have learned to love. I encourage you to also look within yourself and search for what you love about yourself. It has made my road to happiness infinitely more fruitful, which is something that I genuinely want for each and every one of you. ===