Hello lovely readers!

Have you ever been called “crazy”? How did you react? Did you take it as an insult or as a compliment?

Historically the term “crazy” has had a lot of definitions, most of them negative and often used to marginalize those who dared to think and act differently. Whether it was for refusing to conform to societal norms, battling mental health challenges, or simply exhibiting unconventional behaviour, being labeled “crazy” has rarely been deemed a compliment.

Welcome to Cray Cray Yay Yay. We launched this project a bit over a month ago. One of the first things we did was learn about Apple’s 1997 Think Different campaign. Instead of advertising its product, Apple chose to celebrate the power of ideas, innovation, and individuality. It celebrated the crazy ones 🤯.

Each of my classmates got to explore one of the so-called “crazy ones” featured in Apple’s iconic campaign. Featured in this campaign were Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King Jr, Pablo Picasso, Amelia Earhart, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Jackie Robinson, Jane Goodall etc. I chose Mahatma Gandhi. I’d heard of his name before, but I didn’t know his story and was curious to find out more.

We then did some research on our chosen person. We were to present what we learned in front of the class in a mini Peckakucha format. A PechaKucha is a presentation style originating from Japan, where speakers present a topic using 20 slides, each displayed for 20 seconds, resulting in a concise and dynamic format. For our mini PechaKucha, we did 10 slides, still 20 seconds per slide, with automatically changing slides. Our final product for this project was going to be a real deal PechaKucha though, so this mini version was great practice for that.

My presentation went well on the first try. I had a captivating opening hook to immediately seize the audience’s attention—an essential aspect of an effective PechaKucha. My introduction began with a thought-provoking image, accompanied by the compelling question: “Look at this photo. What do you see? At first glance, this might just look like a skinny man in simple attire, minding his business, doing his own thing. How could such an ordinary-looking person change the world?”

The most captivating presentations I saw were those where the speakers displayed a deep understanding of their topics and just spoke naturally, instead of relying on a script. Also, timing is everything, because the slides switch automatically after 20 seconds, even if you haven’t said everything you want to say.

Then most of my class embarked on an adventure to Seattle to discover and learn firsthand about why it takes a crazy person to change the world. Every place we went to on our trip had to do with “crazy”. I learned so much and I had a lot of fun on the trip. I love PLP trips because you get to talk and bond with people who you never talk to outside of your classes. Some pictures from the trip:

After 5 days of fun, we were back at school, ready to craft our peckakuchas. We had to use at least 3 examples from our trip to support our answer to the driving question. Our group (Magnus, Dylan and myself) had a pretty hard topic—Philanthropy and Impact: Redefining Giving. Unlike the other groups who had pretty direct examples from our Seattle trip to support their topics, our group had to find examples and then find out how they were connected to philanthropy— even if it was a bit of a stretch. We ended up choosing the Bill and Melinda Gates Discovery Center, Paul Allen and his contributions to the MoPop, and the Climate Pledge arena.

The countdown continued. We only had a few days left until our Peckakucha presentation night, and even if there were still some blanks in our script, it was time to start practicing. We did quite a few dress rehearsals in class, one in front of a small group and two in front of the class.

Our group had a hard time pronouncing philanthropy and philanthropical. During a few of our peckakucha dress rehearsals, I could not control my laughter because all of my group members said philanthropy in a different incorrect way. I said “philan-tropical Causes” 😂 . Feedback we got from the class was to laugh less during the presentation because it was distracting (my bad! 🙊) and to learn to pronounce “philanthropy”. Our teacher told us we that had the most inconsistent slides ever and that our presentation was too “old white rich guy”. And I understood her feedback, but billionaire philanthropy IS mainly “old white rich guys”. My team had a lot of work to do.

We worked hard on improving our script. We needed to cut out the history and facts about the change makers and focus on the how and the why they’re creating change. We then needed to update all our slides so they were more consistent and helped tell the revised story.

My team got our act together and we were able to do a few final run-throughs of our presentation. I tried to remember all the things I’d learned about public speaking: capture your audience’s attention, speak clearly and confidently, don’t sway or do any distracting movements, and when you aren’t talking, look at the person who is.

And then it was finally time.We had a really interesting hook, some great examples (toilets!), and an inspiring call to action. I did well on the delivery of my slides— the only thing was… I forgot my last line.  I just couldn’t remember it. It worked out fine, though, because my final thought was a question for the audience that left them thinking.   In the end, our presentation felt really engaging! 

The peckakucha night was a huge success! All the teams did well. Shout out to Ronan, Francis, and Charlie for their amazing peckakucha called Dollars and Sense. It made the audience laugh and was delivered with genuine passion, which made it fun to watch.

After finishing this project I felt a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I am proud of my team and the work we were able to create, but I was also happy to be done.

Something I would like to keep getting better at are my critical and creative thinking skills. On the trip, I struggled to formulate my thoughts on how it takes a crazy person to change the world and give examples to support my answer. Another thing I could improve on moving forward is relying less on a script: instead I’d just know my key points and then naturally talk about them. I know I can, it’s just scary. It’s a human trait to fear the unknown.

So why does it take a crazy person to change the world?

The crazy ones embody a level of audacity, creativity, and fearlessness that defies conventional thinking.These individuals possess the ability to perceive societal needs others overlook or can’t even see, and possess the courage to pursue unconventional paths in search of innovative solutions. They not only challenge the status quo but persist relentlessly in their goals and visions, undeterred by obstacles or skepticism. Their unwavering dedication inspires others to join their cause, igniting a ripple effect of change that gradually becomes impossible to ignore on a global scale. It is through their revolutionary spirit and relentless determination that they leave an indelible mark on history, reshaping the world as we know it.

Whether you change the world or simply find your place in it, remember this: embracing your ‘crazy’ is key. Dive into the unknown, experiment relentlessly, shatter boundaries, find your passion, and make your story uniquely yours. That’s how we can leave lasting impacts on the world around us.