sunflower | j.keery ; book 2

33 | speech

"Please welcome to the stage, Maisie Carlson,"

"well hello everyone- wow theres a lot of you. [she and crowd laughs]

"as somebody in a relatively high status, i want to do something to make a difference, i want to raise awareness and put my high status into use. i feel like a lot of us could do a lot more with our power in this industry. though i understand why not everyone wants to, i strongly feel as though we should do more- as a community.

there are so many people, out there, who aren't as fortunate as the majority of this room. yes, we took our time getting to where we are now, sitting in this room, but we are the lucky ones. we are the blessed ones. and we should be the ones to make a difference as we are able to do so."

"My campaign, Beauty is Happiness, is to raise awareness for subject such as mental illness, sexual assault, human rights. i created this campaign to let others get the help they need, to let them find who they are and to be happy with who they are. whether they're gay or straight. black or white. woman or a man. you are all humans, you are all normal."

"after my accident, i was thinking a lot about how a situation can really change somebody. i'm not ashamed that i get night terrors, i get panic attacks whenever i even think about setting foot into a vehicle. it's very difficult for me to go back to what i used to be like. which is understandable.

"id stand in front of a mirror, looking at my bruises, calling them ugly and feeling ugly. this resulted in me being unhappy. so i thought, what will make me happy again? will this take a toll on my life forever? will i ever get over it?"

"i resulted in therapy twice a week, this made me feel happier and better in myself. letting myself know that these bruises are OK. they are ugly, but they are OK and are nothing to be ashamed of. Bruises will heal, they don't last forever. its whats on the inside that counts."

"with that being said, i know its a lot easier said than done to be happy, but Beauty is Happiness isn't to state the obvious, its to teach and show people that something that happens to you doesn't define you. your mental illness doesn't define you, situations you have been put into, do not define you.

"a lot of people don't get the treatment they deserve because of the money. and i want to help prevent this being a barrier to a happy and healthy life. i want people not to dismiss their feelings or wellbeing because money is an issue."

"i want to create a world where we help each other, where we support each other and not judge somebody by a mistake or a situation. we're all put onto this world for a reason, all together, so we should help each other as much as we can. Thank you."