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There are a lot of ways the people around us

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can help improve our lives.

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We don't bump into every neighbor,

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so a lot of wisdom never gets passed on,

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though we do share the same public spaces.

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

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with my neighbors in public space,

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using simple tools like stickers, stencils and chalk.

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And these projects came from questions I had, like,

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how much are my neighbors paying for their apartments?

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(Laughter) How can we lend and borrow more things

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

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How can we share more of our memories

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of our abandoned buildings,

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and gain a better understanding of our landscape?

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And how can we share more of our hopes

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for our vacant storefronts, so our communities

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can reflect our needs and dreams today?

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Now, I live in New Orleans,

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and I am in love with New Orleans.

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

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shading lovers, drunks and dreamers

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for hundreds of years, and I trust a city

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that always makes way for music. (Laughter)

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I feel like every time someone sneezes,

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New Orleans has a parade. (Laughter)

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The city has some of the most beautiful architecture

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in the world, but it also has one of the highest amounts

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of abandoned properties in America.

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I live near this house, and I thought about how I could

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make it a nicer space for my neighborhood,

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and I also thought about something

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that changed my life forever.

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In 2009, I lost someone I loved very much.

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

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and her death was sudden and unexpected.

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And I thought about death a lot,

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and

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

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and

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brought clarity to the things that are meaningful

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to my life now.

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

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

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and forget what really matters to you.

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So with help from old and new friends,

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I turned the side of this abandoned house

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into a giant chalkboard and stenciled it

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with a fill-in-the-blank sentence:

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

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

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reflect on their lives, and share their personal aspirations

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in public space.

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

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

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and it kept growing.

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And I'd like to share a few things

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that people wrote on this wall.

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

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"Before I die, I want to straddle the International Date Line."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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So this neglected space became a constructive one,

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and people's hopes and dreams

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made me laugh out loud, tear up,

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and they consoled me during my own tough times.

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It's about knowing you're not alone.

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It's about understanding our neighbors

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in new and enlightening ways.

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It's about making space for reflection and contemplation,

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and remembering what really matters most to us

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as we grow and change.

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I made this last year, and started receiving

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hundreds of messages from passionate people

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who wanted to make a wall with their community,

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so my civic center colleagues and I made a tool kit, and now

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walls have been made in countries around the world,

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including Kazakhstan, South Africa,

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Australia,

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Argentina and beyond.

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Together, we've shown how powerful our public spaces

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can be if we're given the opportunity to have a voice

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and share more with one another.

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Two of the most valuable things we have are time

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and our relationships with other people.

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In our age of increasing distractions,

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

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perspective and remember that life is brief and tender.

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Death is something that we're often discouraged

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to talk about or even think about, but

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I've realized that preparing for death

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is one of the most empowering things you can do.

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Thinking about death clarifies your life.

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Our shared spaces can better reflect what matters to us

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as individuals and as a community,

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

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the people around us can not only help us

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make better places, they can help us lead better lives.

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Thank you. (Applause)

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(Applause)

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Thank you. (Applause)

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(Applause)