Gavin Diehl

Agnostic, Brainstormer, Gay, Idea generator, Musician, Performer, Student

Hello, My name is Gavin Diehl and I did not learn how to tie my shoes correctly till I was fourteen years old. I grew up in a suburban town in a middle class family of six. I used to always use my family and community as a guide for what I should do in life. It just seemed to be easier to let people tell me what to do than figure it out on my own, hence why it took me until eighth grade to tie my shoes the right way. I feel that through my constant waiting for direction I had become extremely average at everything and not passionate about a single thing. However, I found that first there is nothing wrong with being average and second that listening to people all my life has truly let me gain perspective. I have become more worldly and passionate for people, because, while I may have not done a lot in my life, I have experienced so much through others and learned their lessons. This drive for connection and communication has led me to music. Music is a universal language and a connection that can be made by millions of people all at the same time. I have started my journey in music at Columbia College Chicago by majoring in music composition. However, this past year my passion for people and culture has driven me to add a minor in ASL. I have always wanted to learn multiple languages and how they relate to cultures around the world and one culture that really stuck with me was the Deaf community. I hope to one day spread my message through my music and be able to talk to as many people as I can. I want to let others know of the vast and never ending perspectives out there, and of the different life points people are at.

Making connections with others and gaining a new perspective on the world.

Promoting second language learning in earlier education programs.

I knew of TED for a while but never fully made a strong connection to these talks till I joined my high school speech team. In this group I learned a lot about the importance of words and spreading ideas. I was fortunate enough to use a Ted Talk for my senior year event of Oratorical Declamation.

Giving advice and motivating others.