Mina CERMIKLI

Activist, Artist, Student

I have Scoliosis, and I noticed that many people in my community either don't know much about it or are ashamed to talk about it. I, personally have a very long journey with scoliosis, full of hardships and moments where I felt alone, depressed, wanting to give up. After a while, I learned how to cope with it and better myself. The realization of society being indifferent to this topic bugged me, and I decided to look for ways which I can make others realize that focusing on the disadvantages within you, won't get any of us anywhere. So, I decided to form a TEDx club in my school and, together, we came up with the theme "Duck, Duck, Goose!: How our differences make us stronger". Through this theme, we were able to reach potential speakers who have gone through struggles in their own unique lives, and how they managed to deal with it. I myself became a speaker, talking bout my journey with scoliosis and what I have done in my community to spread my own story and help others. As we organized this event, we were able to raise awareness in our community on various hardship stories and unspoken struggles.