0:00:10.872,0:00:13.278 Hi, guys. 0:00:13.278,0:00:16.673 My mom is a strong black woman 0:00:16.673,0:00:20.625 who raised her kids to have the same sense of strength and pride. 0:00:20.625,0:00:23.244 The spirit was epitomized by a single wall 0:00:23.244,0:00:26.306 in our small two-bedroom apartment on the South of Chicago 0:00:26.306,0:00:27.926 Two pictures hung proudly: 0:00:27.926,0:00:31.139 one larger-than-life photo of my siblings and [me], 0:00:31.139,0:00:34.029 and the other, a picture of my mom at twelve years old, 0:00:34.029,0:00:37.785 staring into the eyes of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 0:00:37.785,0:00:41.333 When I was younger I used to stand on my tippy toes, 0:00:41.333,0:00:43.529 stare at that picture, close my eyes tightly 0:00:43.529,0:00:45.428 and just pretend that it was me, 0:00:45.428,0:00:48.858 gazing up to the man who revolutionized the civil rights movement, 0:00:48.858,0:00:52.172 who marched on Washington and who transformed a generation 0:00:52.172,0:00:54.448 by his words "I have a dream." 0:00:54.448,0:00:55.925 But I did get to meet him. 0:00:55.925,0:00:57.540 No, obviously didn't meet Dr. King, 0:00:57.540,0:01:00.532 but I met a man named Dr. Vincent Harding. 0:01:00.532,0:01:02.683 He worked with Dr. King from day one 0:01:02.683,0:01:06.095 and even wrote some of his most iconic speeches. 0:01:06.095,0:01:08.371 You see, this was a really important moment for me as a kid, 0:01:08.371,0:01:09.906 because it was the first time that I realized 0:01:09.906,0:01:13.339 that it wasn't just Dr. King who led this revolution, 0:01:13.339,0:01:15.756 but he was surrounded by a movement 0:01:15.756,0:01:19.566 made up of anonymous extraordinaries. 0:01:19.582,0:01:22.939 Anonymous extraordinaries are people who work selflessly 0:01:22.939,0:01:24.987 and vigorously for what they believe in. 0:01:24.987,0:01:28.260 People who are motivated by conviction and not recognition. 0:01:28.260,0:01:31.172 It took me a long of time to realize the significance of this moment, 0:01:31.172,0:01:32.907 until I was much older. 0:01:32.907,0:01:34.590 And like I said, I grew up in Chicago. 0:01:34.590,0:01:36.821 I grew up in a rough, poor neighborhood 0:01:36.821,0:01:38.323 but it didn't really matter to me as a kid 0:01:38.323,0:01:41.288 because I literally I have the most incredible family in the world. 0:01:41.288,0:01:44.307 Two things that I did struggle with a lot growing up was, 0:01:44.307,0:01:47.195 one, that my dad has been sick my whole life. 0:01:47.195,0:01:50.826 He suffers from Parkinson's and pancreatitis, 0:01:50.826,0:01:52.673 and as a I kid it was so hard for me to 0:01:52.673,0:01:54.755 watch my hero in so much pain. 0:01:54.755,0:01:57.635 And my other issue was with me. 0:01:57.635,0:01:59.990 I guess you could say I had an identity crisis. 0:01:59.990,0:02:02.606 I had to move four times during high school and 0:02:02.606,0:02:05.740 my freshman year I went to an extremely racist high school. 0:02:05.740,0:02:09.120 Kids were so cruel. They gave us hate letters, 0:02:09.120,0:02:10.838 wrote terrible things on our lockers and 0:02:10.838,0:02:12.176 because I am biracial they would tell me, 0:02:12.176,0:02:14.860 "You can't be both. You have to choose -- black or white." 0:02:14.860,0:02:17.583 And in the end I just resented being either. 0:02:17.583,0:02:19.798 And then all of the sudden my senior year rolls around in 2008 0:02:19.798,0:02:21.748 and being mixed, being racially ambiguous 0:02:21.748,0:02:23.003 is this new cool fad. 0:02:23.003,0:02:25.758 Like, "Oh, Natalie. Now it's okay to like you. You're pretty now." 0:02:25.758,0:02:27.716 I was over it. 0:02:27.716,0:02:29.914 I was really tired of caring about what other people thought. 0:02:29.914,0:02:31.706 and I just wanted to do whatever I could do to hurry up, 0:02:31.706,0:02:34.159 go through my classes, whatever school I was going to be at next, 0:02:34.159,0:02:36.180 and graduate. 0:02:36.180,0:02:38.208 I wasn't until I was seventeen 0:02:38.208,0:02:40.120 and I saw a film called "Invisible Children" 0:02:40.120,0:02:43.610 that something happened. 0:02:43.641,0:02:45.596 Child soldiers. 0:02:45.596,0:02:49.045 Children as young as my nephews being abducted, 0:02:49.045,0:02:51.889 given an AK47s and forced to kill, 0:02:51.889,0:02:54.784 not just anyone, but often times forced to kill their own parents, 0:02:54.784,0:02:56.851 their own siblings. 0:02:56.851,0:02:59.713 A rebel army, committing mass murder 0:02:59.713,0:03:03.232 for no political or religion reason -- just because. 0:03:03.247,0:03:05.634 Twenty five years. 0:03:05.634,0:03:08.810 Twenty five years this conflict has been going on. 0:03:08.810,0:03:11.177 I'm twenty years old, so that makes this conflict 0:03:11.177,0:03:12.940 five years older than me. 0:03:12.940,0:03:17.805 One man, one man with one charismatic voice 0:03:17.805,0:03:19.512 started this whole thing. 0:03:19.512,0:03:22.128 His name is Joseph Kony. 0:03:22.128,0:03:24.205 When I saw this film something happened. 0:03:24.205,0:03:26.278 Something started kind of stirring inside of me 0:03:26.278,0:03:27.825 and I couldn't identify what it was. 0:03:27.825,0:03:30.329 I didn't know if it was rage, if it was pity, 0:03:30.329,0:03:32.803 if I felt guilty because this was the first time 0:03:32.803,0:03:35.659 that I heard about a twenty five year-long war. 0:03:35.659,0:03:37.178 I couldn't even give it a name. 0:03:37.178,0:03:38.538 All I knew is that it kicked me off my ass and 0:03:38.538,0:03:39.739 I started asking questions: 0:03:39.739,0:03:40.989 What do I do? 0:03:40.989,0:03:43.380 What can one seventeen year old do? 0:03:43.380,0:03:45.422 You've gotta give me something. 0:03:45.422,0:03:47.359 And they gave me something. 0:03:47.359,0:03:49.422 The founders and film makers at Invisible Children 0:03:49.422,0:03:51.262 told me that there was this bill, 0:03:51.262,0:03:52.825 that if I could just get this bill passed, 0:03:52.825,0:03:53.874 it would do two things: 0:03:53.874,0:03:56.310 One, it would apprehend Joseph Kony, 0:03:56.310,0:03:57.948 and the top commanders of his rebel army. 0:03:57.948,0:04:00.475 And two, it would provide funding for the recovery 0:04:00.475,0:04:01.896 of these regions that have been devastated 0:04:01.896,0:04:03.239 by twenty five years of war. 0:04:03.239,0:04:05.001 And I was like: "Done, let me at it, 0:04:05.001,0:04:08.478 I swear I will do whatever I can to make this happen." 0:04:08.478,0:04:11.556 So, myself and ninety nine other idealistic 0:04:11.556,0:04:13.017 eighteen to twenty year olds, 0:04:13.017,0:04:16.530 hopped on a plane to intern in San Diego with Invisible Children. 0:04:16.530,0:04:19.757 I was postponing college, we weren't getting paid for this, 0:04:19.757,0:04:22.254 and you can call me irresponsible or crazy -- my parents did -- 0:04:22.254,0:04:26.496 but for us it would have been insane not to go. 0:04:26.496,0:04:29.183 We all felt this urgency and we would do 0:04:29.183,0:04:32.270 whatever it took to pass this bill. 0:04:32.270,0:04:33.935 So we were given our first task: 0:04:33.935,0:04:35.480 We were going to plan an event called 0:04:35.480,0:04:38.009 "The rescue of Josep Kony's child soldiers" 0:04:38.009,0:04:39.599 where participants would come 0:04:39.599,0:04:41.388 in a hundred cities worldwide 0:04:41.388,0:04:44.827 and rally in the city center until a celebrity or a political figure 0:04:44.827,0:04:47.691 came and used their voice on behalf of these child soldiers. 0:04:47.691,0:04:50.457 And at that point each city was "rescued." 0:04:50.457,0:04:51.739 But the catch was 0:04:51.739,0:04:54.380 we weren't leaving the cities until we were rescued. 0:04:54.380,0:04:56.862 I was given Chicago and nine other cities. 0:04:56.862,0:04:58.373 And I told my bosses, I was like, 0:04:58.373,0:04:59.869 "if we're going for big name people, 0:04:59.869,0:05:02.943 why not go for the queen bee? Why not go for Oprah Winfrey?" 0:05:02.943,0:05:04.629 They thought I was a little idealistic. 0:05:04.629,0:05:06.882 But, I mean, we were trying to think big. 0:05:06.882,0:05:08.489 We were doing an impossible thing, 0:05:08.489,0:05:11.306 so why not try to reach a more impossible thing? 0:05:11.306,0:05:14.965 And so we had from January to April to get this done. 0:05:14.966,0:05:18.555 This is the number of hours that I spent on logistics, 0:05:18.555,0:05:20.505 from getting permits to rallying participants 0:05:20.505,0:05:22.945 and finding venues. 0:05:22.945,0:05:25.572 This is the number of times that I was rejected 0:05:25.572,0:05:30.029 by celebrities' agents or politicians' secretaries. 0:05:30.029,0:05:34.885 That is the amount of money that I spent personally on Red Bull and Diet Coke 0:05:34.885,0:05:36.484 to stay awake during this movement. 0:05:36.484,0:05:37.809 (Laughter) 0:05:37.809,0:05:40.135 You can judge me if you want to. 0:05:40.135,0:05:41.705 That is my hospital bill 0:05:41.705,0:05:43.287 from the kidney infection I got 0:05:43.287,0:05:47.163 from an overconsumption of caffeine due to this event. 0:05:47.163,0:05:48.932 These were just some of the ridiculous things 0:05:48.932,0:05:51.138 we did to try and pull this event off. 0:05:51.138,0:05:54.323 And so, April 21st rolls around and the event begins. 0:05:54.323,0:05:57.127 A hundred cities around the world -- they were beautiful. 0:05:57.127,0:06:00.197 Six days later, all the cities were rescued but one: 0:06:00.197,0:06:02.189 Chicago. 0:06:02.189,0:06:04.443 So we were waiting in the city. 0:06:04.443,0:06:06.321 People start coming from all over the world, 0:06:06.321,0:06:08.292 all over the country to be reinforcements 0:06:08.292,0:06:09.957 and join their voice with ours. 0:06:09.957,0:06:13.672 And finally, on May 1st, we wrapped ourselves around Oprah's studio. 0:06:13.672,0:06:15.552 And we got her attention. 0:06:15.552,0:06:16.634 This is a clip from a film called 0:06:16.634,0:06:17.582 "Together We are Free" 0:06:17.582,0:06:19.130 documenting the rescue event 0:06:19.130,0:06:21.454 and my attempt to get Oprah. 0:06:23.034,0:06:24.833 (Video) Oprah: First when I drove into the office this morning 0:06:24.833,0:06:25.933 there was a giant ... 0:06:25.933,0:06:27.838 When you all came in, was there a group outside? 0:06:27.838,0:06:28.728 Audience: Yes. 0:06:28.728,0:06:31.720 Oprah: ... holding up signs asking if I would talk to them 0:06:31.720,0:06:35.545 for just five minutes, so I was happy to do so 0:06:35.545,0:06:38.966 and they are with a group called Invisible Children 0:06:38.966,0:06:41.027 and I told this group outside that I'd 0:06:41.027,0:06:44.386 give them a minute to state their case. 0:06:44.401,0:06:47.057 Man in crowd: Oprah, thank you so much for having us. 0:06:47.057,0:06:49.312 Basically these folks out here 0:06:49.312,0:06:52.580 have seen the story of thirty thousand children 0:06:52.580,0:06:56.684 abducted by a rebel leader named Joseph Kony. 0:06:56.684,0:06:59.520 And they're out here in solidarity and they have been out here 0:06:59.520,0:07:01.274 for six days. 0:07:01.274,0:07:04.264 They started as a hundred thousand people worldwide. 0:07:04.264,0:07:06.918 Now it's down to five hundred standing strong, 0:07:06.918,0:07:08.880 so that you can raise the profile of this issue 0:07:08.880,0:07:11.743 and we can end the longest running war in Africa 0:07:11.743,0:07:14.804 and rescue those kids that are child soldiers 0:07:14.804,0:07:16.599 still in East Africa. 0:07:16.599,0:07:18.561 Man: Oprah, I have to say this girl Natalie here, 0:07:18.561,0:07:19.989 she's eighteen years old. 0:07:19.989,0:07:21.566 She was an intern for us this year 0:07:21.566,0:07:24.589 and she said, "My one goal is to get Oprah." 0:07:24.589,0:07:27.320 She had two thousand people come out on Saturday, 0:07:27.320,0:07:28.215 but it rained. 0:07:28.215,0:07:31.548 She stood here in the rain with fifty people. 0:07:31.548,0:07:33.477 When they heard she was here, hundreds started coming. 0:07:33.477,0:07:36.039 People are here from Mexico, Australia. 0:07:36.039,0:07:37.399 Natalie is eighteen. 0:07:37.399,0:07:39.083 Don't think you're too young. 0:07:39.083,0:07:40.814 You can change the world any day. 0:07:40.814,0:07:42.997 Start now, start today. 0:07:42.997,0:07:45.943 (Cheers) 0:07:48.389,0:07:50.458 Man in crowd: Was it worth it? 0:07:50.458,0:07:52.922 Crowd: Yeah! 0:07:54.215,0:08:03.666 Natalie! Natalie! Natalie! 0:08:03.666,0:08:09.233 Together we are free! Together we are free! 0:08:13.187,0:08:16.524 (Applause) 0:08:17.139,0:08:19.907 So, you would think that this is the moment in my life, 0:08:19.907,0:08:23.108 the pinnacle that made me an extraordinary. 0:08:23.108,0:08:25.078 And it was an awesome moment. 0:08:25.078,0:08:26.510 I mean, I was on top of the world. 0:08:26.510,0:08:28.752 Ten million people watch the Oprah Winfrey show. 0:08:28.752,0:08:30.668 But looking back, that wasn't it. 0:08:30.668,0:08:31.901 Don't get me wrong, 0:08:31.901,0:08:33.156 like I said, it was a great moment. 0:08:33.156,0:08:35.968 It made for a heck of a profile picture on Facebook for a week. 0:08:35.968,0:08:40.439 But I had been extraordinary all along. 0:08:40.439,0:08:41.788 And I wasn't alone. 0:08:41.788,0:08:44.449 You see, even though my story was featured in this film, 0:08:44.449,0:08:46.416 I was just one of a hundred interns 0:08:46.416,0:08:49.309 who worked their tails off to make this happen. 0:08:50.278,0:08:52.885 I'm up in the air, but the guy that I'm sitting on his shoulders, 0:08:52.885,0:08:54.505 he's my best friend. 0:08:54.505,0:08:55.908 His name is Johannes Oberman 0:08:55.908,0:08:57.926 and Johannes worked with me from day one in Chicago -- 0:08:57.926,0:09:02.173 just as long hours, just as many sleepless nights as I did. 0:09:03.021,0:09:05.436 The girl on the right, her name's Bethany Bylsma. 0:09:05.436,0:09:07.150 Bethany planned New York City and Boston 0:09:07.150,0:09:11.037 and they were seriously the most beautiful events that we held. 0:09:11.037,0:09:12.949 The girl on the left, her name's Colleen. 0:09:12.949,0:09:17.029 Colleen moved to Mexico, moved for three months, 0:09:17.029,0:09:18.316 to plan five events there, 0:09:18.316,0:09:20.853 only to be kicked out the day before the events 0:09:20.853,0:09:23.192 because of the swine flu. 0:09:23.207,0:09:25.508 And then, there was this family. 0:09:25.508,0:09:27.794 This family, they didn't get to come to the rescue, 0:09:27.794,0:09:28.908 they couldn't make it out, 0:09:28.908,0:09:31.633 but they ordered a hundred boxes of pizza for us, 0:09:31.633,0:09:34.901 delivered them to the corner of Michigan and Randolph 0:09:34.901,0:09:36.398 where we were silently protesting. 0:09:36.398,0:09:38.114 You see, it was people like this -- 0:09:38.114,0:09:39.683 doing whatever they could, 0:09:39.683,0:09:41.585 simultaneously, single-mindedly, 0:09:41.585,0:09:43.473 without a care for who was watching -- 0:09:43.473,0:09:45.452 that made this happen. 0:09:45.452,0:09:47.529 It wasn't about us getting on Oprah. 0:09:47.529,0:09:49.307 Because when I got down from those shoulders, 0:09:49.307,0:09:51.027 the war hadn't ended. 0:09:51.027,0:09:52.284 It was about that bill. 0:09:52.284,0:09:54.412 Oprah was just a checkpoint on the way to that bill. 0:09:54.412,0:09:55.827 That bill was the point. 0:09:55.827,0:09:58.486 That bill is was what we had our eyes set on from day one. 0:09:58.486,0:10:00.898 That was going to help us end Africa's longest running war, 0:10:00.898,0:10:03.848 and that is what brought a hundred thousand people 0:10:03.848,0:10:07.129 out to the rescue them from around the world. 0:10:07.129,0:10:09.295 And it paid off. 0:10:10.018,0:10:12.422 Ten days after we were on Oprah, 0:10:12.422,0:10:15.193 the bill was introduced into Congress. 0:10:15.193,0:10:16.696 A year after that, 0:10:16.696,0:10:20.355 it got -- unanimously -- two hundred and sixty-seven 0:10:20.355,0:10:22.385 cosponsors in Congress. 0:10:22.385,0:10:24.884 And then, one week after that, 0:10:24.884,0:10:27.593 President Obama signed our bill into law. 0:10:27.593,0:10:32.102 (Applause) 0:10:35.087,0:10:37.500 And none of us interns got to be there. 0:10:37.500,0:10:39.388 We didn't get to be there in this moment. 0:10:39.388,0:10:40.591 Our founders were there. 0:10:40.591,0:10:41.856 They're the guys cheesing in the background. 0:10:41.856,0:10:42.622 (Laughter) 0:10:42.622,0:10:45.899 But that moment right there 0:10:45.899,0:10:47.500 is what made all of it worth it. 0:10:47.500,0:10:50.689 It's what a hundred thousand anonymous extraordinaries 0:10:50.689,0:10:54.833 worked for so hard to make that happen. 0:10:54.833,0:10:57.328 You know, the Oprah moments, they 0:10:57.328,0:10:59.749 prove that the supposedly impossible can be done. 0:10:59.749,0:11:01.694 They inspire us, they boost our confidence. 0:11:01.694,0:11:03.817 But the moment isn't a movement. 0:11:03.817,0:11:05.985 Even a lot of those moments strung together 0:11:05.985,0:11:07.549 don't fuel a movement. 0:11:07.549,0:11:08.715 What fuels a movement 0:11:08.715,0:11:11.509 are the anonymous extraordinaries behind it. 0:11:11.509,0:11:12.463 You know, for me, 0:11:12.463,0:11:14.048 what got me pushing on through the rescue 0:11:14.048,0:11:15.531 was the thought of those child soldiers. 0:11:15.531,0:11:16.590 It became personal. 0:11:16.590,0:11:18.078 I was able to go to Africa at one point. 0:11:18.078,0:11:19.988 I met these incredible people. 0:11:19.988,0:11:21.135 I have friends 0:11:21.135,0:11:22.600 that have been living in this conflict 0:11:22.600,0:11:25.472 their entire life and it was personal to me. 0:11:25.472,0:11:28.286 But that doesn't have to be what drives you. 0:11:28.286,0:11:31.283 You know, you may wanna be the next Shepard Fairey 0:11:31.283,0:11:33.978 or the next J.K. Rowling 0:11:33.978,0:11:36.164 or the next whoever, it doesn't matter. 0:11:36.164,0:11:38.212 But what ever you want, chase after it 0:11:38.212,0:11:40.134 with everything that you have -- 0:11:40.134,0:11:41.771 not because of the fame or the fortune, 0:11:41.771,0:11:43.557 but solely because that's what you believe in. 0:11:43.557,0:11:45.208 Because that's what makes your heart sing. 0:11:45.208,0:11:47.823 That's what your dance is. 0:11:48.823,0:11:51.540 That's what is going to define our generation -- 0:11:51.540,0:11:52.982 when we start chasing and fighting 0:11:52.982,0:11:54.433 after the things that we love 0:11:54.433,0:11:55.912 and that we want to fight for. 0:11:55.912,0:11:57.269 I cared too much in high school about 0:11:57.269,0:11:58.494 what people thought about me. 0:11:58.494,0:12:00.517 That's what's so awesome about this conference. 0:12:00.517,0:12:02.028 So many of you are so young. 0:12:02.028,0:12:03.961 Find that thing that inspires you, 0:12:03.961,0:12:05.885 that you love, and just chase after it. 0:12:05.885,0:12:07.464 You know, fight for that. 0:12:07.464,0:12:08.975 Because that is what's gonna change this world 0:12:08.975,0:12:11.400 and that is what defines us. 0:12:11.400,0:12:12.810 Despite what people think, 0:12:12.810,0:12:15.222 my Oprah moments, my being on TED, 0:12:15.222,0:12:16.399 doesn't define me. 0:12:16.399,0:12:18.302 Because if you were to follow me home to LA, 0:12:18.302,0:12:19.963 you would see me waiting tables, 0:12:19.963,0:12:21.869 and nannying to pay the bills 0:12:21.869,0:12:24.790 as I chase after my dream of becoming a filmmaker. 0:12:24.790,0:12:28.046 In the small, anonymous, monotonous, 0:12:28.046,0:12:29.657 every-single-day acts, 0:12:29.657,0:12:33.557 I have to remind myself to be extraordinary. 0:12:33.586,0:12:36.060 And believe me, when the door is closed 0:12:36.060,0:12:38.687 and the cameras are off, it's tough. 0:12:38.687,0:12:41.081 But if there's one thing that I want to drive home to you, 0:12:41.081,0:12:42.060 one thing that I can say 0:12:42.060,0:12:43.632 not just to you but to myself, 0:12:43.632,0:12:46.578 it is that it's the acts that make us extraordinary, 0:12:46.578,0:12:48.386 not the Oprah moments. 0:12:48.386,0:12:50.124 Thank you.