Sophie Hefter
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Mira Costa senior Emily Angstreich demonstrated her public speaking abilities by presenting her ideas on mental illness at the TEDx event hosted on Nov. 4 at Mira Costa High School.
Angstreich spent over six months preparing for her presentation about mental illness and courage. Her ability to speak publicly came naturally after participating the Model United Nations for four years, and her focus came from her own experiences with depression and anxiety, she said.
“The reason I decided to take the opportunity to speak was because I always wished someone had said to me that I didn’t need to be ashamed about my depression, and at the very least I thought I could be that voice for other people,” Angstreich said.
In her presentation, Angstreich spoke about the severity of mental illness. The main message of her speech was that mental illness is not something to be ashamed of and is extremely common, especially among high school students.
“I decided to speak about this topic because my own life has been shaped by mental illness,” Angstrich said. “Throughout my life, I have seen it affect family members, friends and myself.”
Despite being a controversial topic, mental health is often overlooked. People seem to have their lives together but may be suffering, Angstreich said. Speaking up about her own life may pave the way for other people to get the help they need.
“My hope was to be able to help my audience find the courage to be open about your mental health,” Angstreich said. “It’s terrifying, but it will enable you to find a new kind of strength.”
Angstreich spoke at the TEDx Mira Costa event in March about the same topic. Having one successful TEDx presentation under her belt, Angstreich was able to expand upon her ideas, she said.
“It felt like this presentation was more in-depth than my last one,” Angstreich said. “After having already experienced one, it felt like I knew what I needed to do to prepare, therefore, I was able to improve on what I did last time.”
The event also allowed Angstreich to get her message across to several more people. While the previous event only had around 75 people, over 400 people attended her most recent talk about courage.
“It was an incredible event. I’ve never been around so many people who had so many new and innovative idea,” Angstrich said. “It was eye-opening and truly inspiring.”
The TEDx event allowed Angstreich to reach out to several audience members through her speech and was a clear success due to the comments she received afterward, Angsreich said.
“My favorite part was the reaction that I got afterwards,” Angstreich said. “I got to talk to so many people to hear their own stories and how they were glad that the conversation about mental health was being started. It showed me that my speech made a difference and that by being open, I really can make a difference in the world.”
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