I was so honored to be a participant in the 2016 TEDxUNC event, Bodies: Being Human, earlier this year! There were some amazing speakers, and I had such a great time with the students too.

I was super nervous about the whole thing (there were 1400 people in the audience at a huge auditorium on the University of North Carolina campus), but I managed to push past my nerves and do the talk.

It certainly taught me a lot about public speaking and what kind of time and energy goes into doing a short, concise talk like this. I spent over a month preparing for this event and actually, I needed more time.

Next time I do a huge talk like this, I’ll memorize it and be sure to inject more of my personality into it. It’s all about keeping a mellow vibe, having faith in oneself, and trusting that the audience will relate to your ideas. Just being clear, confident and concise… which is easier said than done ;+)

The title of my talk is ‘How I Turned my Skin into Art.’ I tell the whole story of how I began photographing my dermatographia and the surprising outcome. Plus I delve into how our skin and bodies contain the stories of the lives we live, evidence of our experiences.

After you watch it, please let me know what you think. Do you see your skin as a canvas? If so, how? Is your body your biography? What kind of evidence of your experience shows up on your skin?

Thanks for looking! I hope you enjoy my very first TEDx talk :+)