Creating yourself: adding color to your life | Dianna Martinez | TEDxBoyleHeights

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

Dianna Martinez, a mentee, becoming a mentor at 20 years old talks about taking action, getting involved and creating herself. A gentle petite giant of community spirit. A listener and actor.

Dianna is a sensitive young woman starting her journey of self-discovery.

Dianna is a mentor at the Los Fotos projects, a photography program for Latina youth established to provide avenues of self-expression through imagery and storytelling, an artist and College Student at Cal State Los Angeles. A Community Volunteer in Boyle Heights. Dianna is active in community gardens, community art and performing arts at CASA 0101.

Hello everyone. How's everybody doing?

(Audience) Good.

Good. Well, here is my story.

I am Dianna Martinez,
I am the daughter of two parents

who dared to cross to United States

and have a better life
for them and for me.

I am part of Boyle Heights.

And so my story begins

when I was just a young girl
and my dad would tell me,

"You have to talk to people, tell them
what you think, your opinions."

And I remember, he would stand me
in front of him and ask,

"OK, present yourself, tell me
your name, where you're coming from

and who are your parents."

Simple as that and I would start to cry,
because I couldn’t even say my name.

I would start crying and sobbing saying,

"Do I really have to?
You know my name, don't you?

But it was just a stepping stone,
it was where it all started.

I began talking to other people,
little by little,

breaking out from my introverted shell.

And started getting involved
at the community of Boyle Heights,

but I didn’t know what I wanted
to be, what I wanted to do.

And it all changed, when I stepped
into a community garden,

learning about the community
and that got me thinking:

"Why not do something on my own?"

That’s when we created
Project Alebrije in Casa Americano.

That lasted for three years,

I’ve been a mentor for this past year
for the Las Fotos’ Project.

It’s something where I'm just
throwing myself out there, saying,

"Yeah, why not, let's try this."

And it’s been something where I am just
growing and growing and I am learning.

I see myself doing something
on my own, creating my own future

and creating the future
of others, by teaching them

that dreams are possible,
anything you set your mind to is doable.

And I have a little trick for you to show
you these twenty years how I’ve evolved.

Like everybody knows, we all grow
with a blank piece of paper.

A book isn't written,
because the story hasn’t been told

and with this I just want to show you:

we are that page,
there’s nothing said or done,

but because of the people around us,
they start to mould us and tell us,

"You can't do."

You start thinking above.

And that's when you start seeing pictures,
something that is different.

(Applause)

And the only thing,
they don’t have to just tell you,

but you also have to act,
you have to do something.

Because all these mentors and people
around me, they have told me,

"You can do it."

And not only did I listen to them,
but I actually did something

to create change:
I started adding colour to my life.

(Laughter) (Applause)

And if it wasn’t for all that,
my life would just be black.

(Laughter) (Applause)

And so I thank everybody here

and I know that height isn’t measured
from head to toe, because I’m just 4'11",

but it’s measured from head to the sky.

Thank you.

(Applause)