It is crazy how life is made up of a series of decisions and choices that appear with opportunities. Our lives are continuously affected by event after event that ultimately culminates into each person's unique existence on Earth.

On February 22, 2014, James River High School and its Specialty Center for Leadership & International Relations explored this deeper with its third TEDxYouth@JamesRiverRoad event. Speakers from different fields of life possessed the opportunity to share their experiences with the attending audience in TED Talks that emphasized the possibilities, the reality, and the opportunities.

Join in our conversation as we delve into what's possible, what's real, and what's open to us.

---

Originally from Glen Cove, New York, Heather Artinian was born deaf into a deaf and hearing family. In 2000, an Academy Award nominated documentary released about family and focuses on the issue of getting cochlear implants or not. In the documentary, Heather ends up getting cochlear implants to help her hear. Now, she is a junior at Georgetown University majoring in Government with a minor in Justice and Peace Studies. She is the founder of Girls for Change, an organization at Georgetown that empowers the female youth in Washington DC by building leadership and business skills. She also is on the Georgetown Scholarship Program Student Board as a Community Service Co-Chair and is in the George F. Baker Scholar program, a program that gives a business education to those studying liberal arts. Outside of her studies, Heather works as a Georgetown Intramurals referee and plays as a Georgetown Club Basketball Travel Team member-- one of her favorite things to do.

---

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)