1
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I've loved school.

2
00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:24,012
Until the time I took my first test.

3
00:00:24,012 --> 00:00:26,424
I loved my teachers and I loved my friends.

4
00:00:26,424 --> 00:00:29,680
But I hated reading. It made my head hurt.

5
00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:33,098
Specialists started pointing me 
out of my classroom

6
00:00:33,098 --> 00:00:35,594
and labeled me "reading and writing disabled."

7
00:00:35,594 --> 00:00:39,261
And for years I was totally freaked out 
and anxious about school.

8
00:00:39,261 --> 00:00:42,313
And in middle school it got worse.

9
00:00:42,313 --> 00:00:44,546
Until I started home school.

10
00:00:44,546 --> 00:00:46,894
That's when I realized I just needed 
an alternative way to learn.

11
00:00:49,242 --> 00:00:51,591
So I studied ancient civilizations in Egypt,

12
00:00:51,591 --> 00:00:53,897
biology on safaris in Kenya,

13
00:00:53,897 --> 00:00:58,126
and real life math at grocery stores, 
currency exchanges on Craigslist.

14
00:00:58,126 --> 00:01:02,420
After homeschooling, 
my grade point average came up,

15
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my self esteem came back 
and I felt empowered.

16
00:01:06,265 --> 00:01:09,746
And once I became responsible 
for my own time management,

17
00:01:09,746 --> 00:01:11,570
and I kinda got used to that,

18
00:01:11,570 --> 00:01:14,369
I couldn't imagine a future 
on somebody else's schedule.

19
00:01:14,809 --> 00:01:17,815
So last year I created my own business.

20
00:01:17,815 --> 00:01:19,842
The idea came to me in Liverpool

21
00:01:19,842 --> 00:01:23,385
when I was watching amphibious 
World War II vehicles called ducks

22
00:01:23,385 --> 00:01:25,540
giving land and water tours.

23
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Back home at Homer Alaska.

24
00:01:27,416 --> 00:01:30,630
I came up with...
I researched and wrote a similar tour

25
00:01:30,630 --> 00:01:32,855
even though there was no way 
I could afford a duck.

26
00:01:33,325 --> 00:01:36,808
Two years later though, I came up
with a more affordable tour.

27
00:01:36,808 --> 00:01:39,677
Entered a business idea contest,
won some cash,

28
00:01:39,677 --> 00:01:43,540
and became the owner of a replica 
of a San Francisco trolley.

29
00:01:43,540 --> 00:01:47,591
I've learned about regulations, 
marketing and ordinances,

30
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and what it takes to get
old moving parts moving again.

31
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The morning before my first tour,

32
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I was underneath the trolley 
fixing a fuel leak,

33
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gas dripping down my elbows.

34
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And I remember thinking to myself

35
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"I could be sleeping in right now."

36
00:02:03,933 --> 00:02:06,511
Well, aside from worrying about 
an occasional fuel leak

37
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or work interfering 
with my fishing schedule,

38
00:02:08,839 --> 00:02:11,851
I'm happy to know how empowering 
it is to start with a dream

39
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and end with something tangible.

40
00:02:14,538 --> 00:02:17,014
I have learned 
that I can't let people label me.

41
00:02:17,014 --> 00:02:19,595
And my own limits are the limits 
that I set for myself.

42
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Alternative thinking has made it
that I can reach my dream.

43
00:02:22,777 --> 00:02:25,382
And I hope that some day 
by alternative thinking

44
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I can be a part of a greater dream 
to create positive solutions

45
00:02:29,121 --> 00:02:31,791
for the rest of the world

46
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(Applause)