Ikigai is a Japanese saying that roughly translates to one’s sense of purpose in life. My idea is to build upon this concept and relate it to having specific dreams as a child in order to help people overcome their fear of the future. People are often scared of what lies ahead because they don’t know what they want to do in college or what career they would enjoy as an adult. To help with this, I want to show the audience that by steadily appreciating certain aspects of life, even if they are small, it can give someone immense motivation and promote them to achieve their newfound goals. My aim is to highlight how by focusing on the little things that drive you everyday, AKA the things that motivate you to wake up in the morning, you can better learn what type of life would suit you and what would make you happiest as a human being. My name is Cadence Fong and I’m a 17 year-old junior attending Legacy High School. Ever since I was a child, I remember having countless hobbies and interests, some of the most influential ones include reading, video editing, computer science, math, and painting.Aside from my pastimes, in the future I plan to pursue a career in technology and possibly focus on the field of cyber security specifically. I’m not completely sure what I want to do in life; however, I’ve always preferred more logic-based topics, so I naturally gravitate towards subjects that fulfill this instinctive need. I’m like a glass jar with millions of random questions swirling around in my head and I’m constantly trying to abate the neverending curiosity I have about the world. There are plenty of strange feelings and unique thoughts piling within me everyday and I’m incredibly excited to share a small, important snippet of my complicated self to everyone. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx