The Mirror and the Maze: Part 1 | Apurva Acharya | TEDxShishukunj International School Youth

Описание: In today’s world, pain has quietly turned into a competition. As teenagers, we often share our struggles not to heal, but to measure ourselves against one another, who has suffered more, who has it worse. I’ve been part of that cycle. I’ve seen how trauma gets romanticised, how sadness becomes a personality, and how being mentally stable can feel almost out of place.

The Mirror and the Maze: Part 1 is a reflection on that experience. It explores how constantly comparing our pain traps us in a maze where no one actually moves forward. This talk invites us to pause, look honestly at ourselves, and question why we equate suffering with depth. By choosing compassion over comparison, we can rebuild a culture where support actually helps us heal, not perform our hurt. I’m an 11 grader who loves exploring how people think and express themselves and figuring things out while having fun doing it. I get curious about why people think the way they do and how a tiny idea can grow into something huge.
My passions are opposites that keep finding each other. Economics gives me the thrill of understanding why people do what they do, while classical dance lets me say the things that don’t fit in sentences. When I’m performing or creating something new, I love that mix of panic, excitement and “okay, let’s see what happens.”
I enjoy taking up things that start as a small sketch or a spark and turning them into something real, like choreographing a piece that tells a new story or writing a concept that eventually becomes a plan, and I’m drawn to stories hidden inside data, emotions behind a decision and ideas that don’t sit still.
I intend to keep exploring what excites me and collect experiences as tiny mosaics that shape me and the purpose(s) that follow. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx