What Teenagers Want You to Know | Roy Petitfils | TEDxVermilionStreet

TEDx Talks・2 minutes read

Roy recounts his journey from struggling with obesity and feeling invisible to finding acceptance and support in college, resulting in a significant weight loss. He emphasizes the importance of truly seeing teenagers and providing them with meaningful relationships, highlighting the positive impact it can have on their well-being and self-worth.

Insights

  • Roy's personal journey from severe obesity to significant weight loss highlights the impact of finding acceptance and support from a diverse community, showcasing the transformative power of positive relationships on one's well-being.
  • By emphasizing the importance of truly seeing and acknowledging teenagers, Roy underscores the profound impact simple gestures like texting, inviting for coffee, or engaging in conversation can have on adolescents, fostering a sense of value and belonging that combats the fear of invisibility and positively shapes their self-worth.

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Recent questions

  • How did Roy's weight loss journey begin?

    Roy's weight loss journey began in college where he found acceptance and support from diverse individuals, leading to a significant weight loss of nearly 300 pounds.

  • What was Roy's childhood like?

    Roy was raised in poverty by a hardworking single mother, struggling with obesity and using food to cope with emotional pain.

  • Why did Roy prefer negative attention?

    Roy preferred negative attention to being ignored due to his fear of invisibility, highlighting the impact of bullying on his self-worth.

  • What is Roy's mission now?

    Roy's mission is to help teenagers feel seen and valued by emphasizing the importance of overcoming invisibility and forming meaningful relationships.

  • How can adults positively impact teenagers?

    Adults can positively impact teenagers by reaching out to them through simple gestures like texting, inviting them for coffee, or talking to them, making them feel seen and valued, thus removing their sense of invisibility.

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Summary

00:00

"From Obesity to Acceptance: Roy's Journey"

  • The narrator, Roy, recalls being taken by his mother to a grocery store at 16 years old to weigh himself on a Toledo meat scale used for farm animals.
  • Roy, weighing 454 pounds, realizes he exceeds the doctor's scale limit and faces the reality of his weight.
  • Raised in poverty by a hardworking single mother, Roy struggled with obesity, using food to cope with emotional pain.
  • Enduring severe bullying in school due to his weight, Roy found solace in food but faced intense humiliation from classmates.
  • Despite the bullying, Roy preferred negative attention to being ignored, highlighting the fear of invisibility.
  • Roy's life changed in college when he found acceptance and support from diverse individuals, leading to a significant weight loss of nearly 300 pounds.
  • Roy emphasizes the importance of overcoming invisibility, sharing his mission to help teenagers feel seen and valued.
  • Teenagers, though often language-poor in expressing their needs, deeply desire meaningful relationships and attention from adults.
  • Roy recounts a counseling session with a teenager resisting school traditions, revealing the profound impact of being truly seen and understood.
  • Roy stresses the simple yet powerful act of truly seeing and acknowledging teenagers, which can positively impact their well-being and sense of self-worth.

16:41

Connect with teens to make them feel valued.

  • Reach out to teenagers in your life by texting, sending a Snapchat, inviting them for coffee, or simply talking to them to make them feel seen and valued; this small gesture can have a significant impact on their lives and help remove their sense of invisibility.
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