Tedx Talks — The Place of Wonder: A Giant Pod of Potential

Jessica Riley '98 recalls when, in a sculpture class in Paris, her instructor came up and smashed to pieces a beautiful sculpture she had just completed.

“That was good, now do better,” he told her.

She remembered this experience years later, when she lost her job in screenwriting and stopped speed skating after 22 years — she realized she needed to start over, and to “find [her] place of wonder.” In this place of wonder, Riley tells us, we learn to play like children. We realize that the outside world has less power over us, and that “playing” is the best way to express ourselves.
Riley wants to see a world in which adults have lost their fear, and this will allow them to build the best world for the future generation.

In essence: “Become your own pioneer,” she told the audience. “See who you are after all on the outside goes away.” And remember to play.