Once Upon a Time...

The TED talk that I chose was titled "Isabel Allende: How to live Passionately- No Matter your Age." The speaker is trying to convince the viewers to live passionately as they age. Ms. Allender puts her words into practice, as she calls her practicing "training." The important points that struck me were about her personal story of age, examples of passionate women, and her view of societal image on aging women especially. She talks about her personal story of aging by describing the ages of each family member, all old. She talks about how her body is deteriorating and her mind is still vibrant. She is scared because she loves to be independent and can tell she is becoming more dependent. But she does not want to be scared. That is why she is in training every day, to continue to live her life passionately as she did when she was 17 years old. The examples of the other passionate women were comical and touching. The older woman who saved hundreds of girls from domestic abuse and prostitution was really over whelming and added a lot of emotion to the speech. The story about the widowed woman with the red shoes was very comical and was another, but different, example of an aging woman living passionately. Lastly, her description of societal views of aging women was interesting. She talked about when you were officially considered OLD by society- age 65 when you apply for medicare. She also mentioned hating to see wrinkles in the mirror. 

Isabel Allende uses the tool pathos to get her point across- to live passionately. She uses emotion in her personal story to connect with the viewers. Personal stories always add pathos to help the viewer make a strong relationship with the speaker. She also uses pathos when she describes other stories. The story of the woman with the red shoes made me laugh. When I laugh I feel connected to the message and feel like I understand her point. The main point that I saw pathos in was when she says that everybody ages. I am aging. My parents are aging. My grandparents are aging. She talks about death being in her neighborhood, then knocking on the door, and then in her house. Is death in my grandparents house? I immediately throw a red flag and emotion floods my mind. This death that haunts my neighborhood can be closer to my family or my friends than I realize or that I want to realize. Death can take any of my loved ones at any moment. This concept is very scary and brings fear into my mind. But her point is to live passionately. Even though you know everybody dies, you need to make the best out of your time- which is why her point is so effective. I think this appeal to the audience was very effective because the death example grabbed my attention in the beginning of the talk and helped me to buy her point. 

My relationship to the TED talk was immediate. Because it is still January, most people are still working on their New Years Resolution (myself included). My NYR is to meet challenges with confidence. I can not waste my time living in fear or doubt. This caught my eye because it sort of relates to my resolution. To live passionately can go hand in hand with confidence. 

Lastly, the purpose of the TED talk was to better the viewers by sharing an insightful piece of advice-live passionately. Through this communication, she is trying to make the world a better place, filled with passionate people. I love this because in my generation the "cool" thing is disinterest. Everybody thinks it is cool to not care. But she is telling you that is a waste of time and not fulfilling! Her advice should embody my generation because the idea of disinterest is unfortunate.