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Last year,
I was given the opportunity
to carry the Olympic flame in England.
And I started to think, how did I get there?
What made me deserving of this opportunity?
And after a lot of thought,
I decided that was based on this formula:
One: be passionate.
Two: follow your dreams.
Three: use your voice.
Four: never say never.
And five: allow good things to happen.
Now people always say, be passionate about your careers,
your families, your hobbies,
but you also have to be passionate about life.
Explore the world.
Be curious.
Open yourself up to anything you could ever be interested in.
And those passions
will open doors you never knew existed.
Among my many passions,
my love for the environment
was what I felt most strongly about.
I spent my life nurturing that love.
And because of this love, it forced me to follow my dreams.
Now people always say,
this is an overused phrase,
everyone and their dog says to follow your dreams.
But just because it is a cliché doesn't make it any less important.
If you have an idea, make it a reality.
If you want to write a book, write it to life.
If you want to beat the Guinness World Record,
then beat it, and more power to you.
And if you are like me, and you want to build
an environmental educational learning center for children,
then build it.
The only thing that is stopping you
from following you dreams, is you.
Now, if you have this great dream and passion,
it will be nothing unless you use your voice.
In the book "The Lorax" by Dr. Seuss, it says,
"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
nothing is going to get better." It's not.
People aren't going to believe in your passions and dreams right away.
So you're going to have to persuade them.
Inspire people to see the world that you see.
And once you do that you're going to have to lead them.
The Lorax also said,
"I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues."
I would always say, I was the Lorax
because I was speaking for the trees.
I was convincing people
the importance of environmental conservation
and getting them to stand ground with me.
And once you do this,
you're going to have to learn the phrase,
"Never say never."
Now, if I could play
Justin Bieber's "Never say never" song for you right now, I would.
But since I can't and no one wants to hear that,
(Laughter)
I'm going to tell you what I mean by this.
People are going to tell you,
"No, you can't do this.
You're too young
and you have no idea what you are talking about."
And my response to this is
be very polite as you prove them wrong.
And then shake their hand as they stare at you in awe.
Another thing to remember though
if someone doesn't like your idea:
criticism is a good thing.
Allow people to make your dream better.
I had no idea what to do on a construction site,
but my team of experts I assembled sure did.
Another thing to remember,
age is just a number.
If people think you can't do something
because you're kid,
prove to them that you're passionate and mature enough to make a difference.
Young people sometimes have the loudest voices,
as well as the most important.
Prove to people what you can do,
but more importantly, prove to yourself
that you're fighting for a dream
that is worth every ounce of your cause.
I was 14.
It took three years, and every weekend of my time.
But you know what?
I proved to people what young people could do,
and I proved to myself what I could do.
And when all is said and done,
allow good things to happen.
I didn't build an environmental center,
to be rewarded for being proactive,
I built it because I wanted people to care.
And people were caring,
but they also cared a lot
about what a high school student was doing.
After the dedication, I struggled with the rewards.
I had spent so much of my time
from being a teenager to this project,
that I wanted it to be left at that.
I felt spoiled and embarrassed.
Until I became a member of the Coca-Cola family
when I became a Coke scholar.
I met so many talented young people my age
who just wanted to make a difference in the world.
And I thought,
maybe all of these great things were happening to me
because I wasn't just supposed to be
inspiring people to be environmentally friendly.
I was inspiring them to be proactive, passionate US citizens.
And with that new mentality,
I was given the opportunity
to carry the Olympic flame in England.
I was one of 22 Americans picked by Coca-Cola
to carry the flame throughout England
to its final destination in London.
I was able to hold that flame
and say that I was the only person
in the entire world holding it.
A symbol that represents
friendship, peace, unity, strength and competition.
A symbol that unites the world.
When that was set and done,
I ran through a crowd of thousands
where people were chanting my name.
My location had been printed in their newspapers.
People had heard my story.
Never in my entire life
had I felt like I had had more of an impact
than I did in that very moment.
I was showing people what it looks like to be passionate,
while representing the United States.
I was showing them what it looks like
to follow your dreams, use your voice,
and never forget what you're fighting for.
Now I'm not saying following these guidelines
to an exact tee will take you to the Olympics.
I'm saying following these guidelines,
while making your own set of rules,
will take you to the most amazing opportunities,
you never could have imagined.
It's time to unleash your brilliance.
Thank you.
(Applause)