Something Bright – A PechaKucha About Growth

As you may or may not know, my name is Luca which means the bringer of light. The following is a PechaKucha about me, but more specifically the change that has happened to me over my high-school years.


This presentation is a look back to who I once was and also a capture of who I am today. To do this, I need to start from when I truly was a different man; a man that in-front of many of eyes, including my own, has changed into an entirely different being.

Throughout my middle school years I lead my life in what now seems to be a darkness. Not a darkness of emotion but a shadow of an experience which I missed because of who I was, an introverted kid who only spoke to his close friends and had no real need for anybody else.

But then when I entered this school in grade nine, I didn’t have those friends. My comfort zone was lost and I realized that was surrounded with a new opportunity. An entirely new group who didn’t know who I was. I had a second chance to choose who I wanted to be, and that’s when my change started, like winter to spring I started to wake up to a new life.

All the sudden, I didn’t have just two or three new friends I was making, twenty, thirty, forty. This is because I discovered this world of performing arts, which I started in grade nine by doing tech, but over the years I learned to love this theatrical world and it gave me a reason to stay in this school.

Amongst all the fun and joking around we had in the making of the musicals and one act plays, the most important thing that I got out of this experience was the connections I made. I now knew and talked to more people than I ever had before, and found a place where I belonged.

And for the first time I was truly… happy.

I was not just existing, I was living my life and being this new person I wanted to be. My world shattered when I lost my good friends and it changed me in such a drastic way but it’s exactly what I needed.

Now with this new group of people I found a way to bring forth things I really loved. Like music through choir or technology through theatrics, because I found this group that shared my same passions and loves. But they also inspired me. I recently picked up piano again because of how inspired I was by the people that now were by friends.

I feel like now I have the light which I lacked in my past. I grew up and became more extroverted, more accepting, and more myself. I have gained a confidence which before I never thought possible, and it changed how I was around people, I would be openly myself. Shining bright.

I started to become a leader with those I interacted with. The same seniors who I looked up to in my junior year, I have now become for the new grades coming. I include others, want to lift them up, and show them the same experience that I got when I was in their shoes.

I want to light up others in the same way I have been. This is my goal, I want to help people following in my footsteps to become even brighter than I am myself.

Though this may not be as difficult as it sounds considering I am…

the bringer of light.

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8 thoughts on “Something Bright – A PechaKucha About Growth

  1. Luca:

    When I saw this presentation in class, it was such a far cry from the others I had seen. We were all desperately trying to fill the space with words before the slides clicked forward to cut us off, but you were in absolutely no hurry, and you communicated so much about yourself while saying so little. As a blabbermouth myself, I truly admire your brevity. It adds so much impact to your words, and made me actually appreciate the limits of a petchakucha instead of cursing them.

    In terms of content, the running symbol of light was incredibly well handled in your presentation. It was a perfect and meaningful through line, and it made the presentation feel far more complete. My only suggestion would be to push that symbol even further and find a way to incorporate the lightbulbs into the other points you made. It was already so well tied together, but this could increase that effect.

    Since the point of the petchakucha is to get to know you, I feel I am justified in making my final thought about you. Both your written words and your presentation skills show a deep and constant steadiness about you, and that is something that I truly admire. You are one of the most unflappable people I have ever met, and, as a complete anxious disaster, I feel like that is an energy I truly need in my life. I am amped (ha lightbulb pun) to get the chance to work with you this year. Fingers crossed that calm is contagious.

    Love,
    Maria

    1. Maria,

      Thank you for your words of wisdom! All your comments I read are so so so thoughtful and I feel blessed to have you comment on mine. You saying that you are a blabbermouth actually surprises me because every time you oven your mouth I want to write down the words that you say because they have such meaning behind them and always come from intention. And in terms of working in the light more throughout the presentation (I’m responding to Lexi and Abhay as well) I totally agree, not sure why I didn’t think of this when creating it, but I love it!

      Thank you again,
      Luca

  2. Dear Luca,

    As one of my dearest friends, I am honoured that I could learn so much about you in this presentation, specifically through the connections you made with light. I knew you back in middle school and I was able to witness your growth into the amazing person you are today. Change is such a beautiful theme to discuss and I appreciated how you used it as your main focus in this piece. Bringer of light. A simple yet beautiful descriptor of who you are. Your writing was concise and powerful, specifically the part about not just existing but living your life. Setting a goal for yourself of that magnitude was absolutely inspiring and was a fantastic way to wrap up your presentation. My only piece of feedback for you, similar to Maria’s, is that I would have loved to see more of your visuals incorporating light bulbs in to them. It was such a compelling symbol and adding more of those images would have strengthened the presentation. We have worked together for some time and I can not believe I have the opportunity to work with you again in our family group this year. Thank you for genuinely being such a light in my own life.

    Lexi

    1. Lexi,

      Ah bless your kind words. Thank you. I am thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the theme I established and will work on incorporating it even more as well. You have been a great factor in my more recent changes of becoming more confident in myself and learning to be a better leader and I am glad to know that you are proud too!

      Love ya!
      Luca

  3. Dear Luca,

    Let me just say that although I have only skimmed the surface of knowing you in these past few years, you are one of the most outgoing people I know, and you make choir that much more enjoyable. This is why I would have never taken you to be an introvert, so it’s interesting to hear about how you have developed.

    For the post, I absolutely loved the whole theme of ‘light’ and how you embarked on this journey from darkness to one filled with light and happiness. The line ‘a shadow of an experience’ fascinated me as we are all living within that shadow until we reach a turning point where we are finally, in a sense, seeing the light. To witness your progression, even though I wasn’t a part of it, is inspiring as you tied many of your images back to the same theme.

    For recommendations, I would agree with both Lexi and Maria on how you could have made the theme of light even more prevalent within your images. However, I would also have added a bit more information to each of the images – although I did the exact same thing you did stylistically – as I was given the recommendation so that we get to know the most we possibly could about you.

    All in all, you truly are ‘the bringer of light’, and I can’t wait to see how you light up our AP class this year.

    Sincerely,
    Abhay

    1. Ah Abhay!

      Though I am embarrassed to say that I have yet to read your own blog post, I feel so blessed that you took the time to read mine, and will be sure to return the favour! You are somebody I haven’t known all that well but I have admired your confidence and the energy you bring into a room. Also I myself really like that line, “a shadow of an experience,” as it truly captures how middle school felt for me, necessary but definitely not a highlight of my life. I personally look forward to learning what I can from you this year!

      Luca

  4. Dear Luca,
    I read this post, and I listened to your presentation, and I couldn’t agree more with what you stated. I remember seeing you in elementary school and middle school as a person who quite conserved to your own business and the people who you were close to (also slapping Enzo). Then, suddenly you transformed into a damn Chad with way too many friends to count and a aura of joy and confidence whenever you were around. It was very inspiring to watch frankly, and I can’t wait to hangout more over AP.
    The only thing I would suggest is making your work flow better. I acknowledge that that may be your writing style, but I feel some times it’s a bit unintentionally abrupt and damages the flow of the sentence.
    I’m going to outdo Maria for probably the only time and do more light bulb puns in my closing statement. I’m looking forward to taking notice on the wisdom you radiate, and I can get more bright light bulbs from that wisdom and put it to use in my own work.
    From,
    Jimmy

    1. Jimmy!

      Yes you would be one of the few people who would know what I was like back in the dark ages known as the pits of middle school. Your openness and outward energy last year was indeed contagious as I have adopted my own version of it to apply in situation when I need to be a little more open and outward with people! As for your suggestion, I totally agree! My flow tends to be something I find difficult to edit and improve on but will hope to do so in the future of this class! Hyped to work with you buddy ol’ pal!

      Yours,
      Luca

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