Before I die I want to ...

In her New Orleans neighborhood, artist and TED Fellow Candy Chang turned an abandoned house into a giant chalkboard asking a fill-in-the-blank question: “Before I die I want to ___.” Her neighbors' answers -- surprising, poignant, funny -- became an unexpected mirror for the community. (What's your answer?)

There are a lot of ways
the people around us

can help improve our lives.

We don't bump into every neighbor,

so a lot of wisdom never gets passed on,

though we do share the same public spaces.

So over the past few years,
I've tried ways to share more

with my neighbors in public space,

using simple tools like
stickers, stencils and chalk.

And these projects came
from questions I had, like:

How much are my neighbors
paying for their apartments?

(Laughter)

How can we lend and borrow more things,

without knocking on each
other's doors at a bad time?

How can we share more memories
of our abandoned buildings,

and gain a better understanding
of our landscape?

How can we share more of our hopes
for our vacant storefronts,

so our communities can reflect
our needs and dreams today?

Now, I live in New Orleans,

and I am in love with New Orleans.

My soul is always soothed
by the giant live oak trees,

shading lovers, drunks and dreamers
for hundreds of years,

and I trust a city that always
makes way for music.

I feel like every time someone sneezes,

New Orleans has a parade.

(Laughter)

The city has some of the most
beautiful architecture in the world,

but it also has one of the highest amounts
of abandoned properties in America.

I live near this house,

and I thought about how I could
make it a nicer space for my neighborhood,

and I also thought about something
that changed my life forever.

In 2009, I lost someone I loved very much.

Her name was Joan,
and she was a mother to me.

And her death was sudden and unexpected.

And I thought about death a lot.

And ... this made me feel deep
gratitude for the time I've had.

And ... brought clarity to the things
that are meaningful to my life now.

But I struggle to maintain
this perspective in my daily life.

I feel like it's easy to get
caught up in the day-to-day,

and forget what really matters to you.

So with help from old and new friends,

I turned the side of this abandoned
house into a giant chalkboard,

and stenciled it with
a fill-in-the-blank sentence:

"Before I die, I want to ..."

So anyone walking by
can pick up a piece of chalk,

reflect on their life,

and share their personal
aspirations in public space.

I didn't know what to expect
from this experiment,

but by the next day,
the wall was entirely filled out,

and it kept growing.

And I'd like to share a few things
that people wrote on this wall.

"Before I die, I want
to be tried for piracy."

(Laughter)

"Before I die, I want to straddle
the International Dateline."

"Before I die, I want
to sing for millions."

"Before I die, I want to plant a tree."

"Before I die, I want
to live off the grid."

"Before I die, I want
to hold her one more time."

"Before I die, I want
to be someone's cavalry."

"Before I die, I want
to be completely myself."

So this neglected space
became a constructive one,

and people's hopes and dreams
made me laugh out loud, tear up,

and they consoled me
during my own tough times.

It's about knowing you're not alone;

it's about understanding our neighbors
in new and enlightening ways;

it's about making space
for reflection and contemplation,

and remembering what really matters
most to us as we grow and change.

I made this last year,

and started receiving hundreds
of messages from passionate people

who wanted to make a wall
with their community.

So, my civic center colleagues
and I made a tool kit,

and now walls have been made
in countries around the world,

including Kazakhstan,

South Africa,

Australia,

Argentina, and beyond.

Together, we've shown how powerful
our public spaces can be

if we're given the opportunity
to have a voice,

and share more with one another.

Two of the most valuable things we have

are time, and our relationships
with other people.

In our age of increasing distractions,

it's more important than ever
to find ways to maintain perspective,

and remember that life
is brief and tender.

Death is something that we're
often discouraged to talk about,

or even think about,

but I've realized that preparing for death

is one of the most empowering
things you can do.

Thinking about death clarifies your life.

Our shared spaces can better
reflect what matters to us,

as individuals and as a community,

and with more ways to share
our hopes, fears and stories,

the people around us can not only
help us make better places,

they can help us lead better lives.

Thank you.

(Applause)

Thank you.

(Applause)