Saturday, November 12, 2011

TEDxBaghdad


I wish I could describe this feeling. It’s not exactly anxiety, as it is riddled with joy. It is not exactly joy, as it is saturated in fear. It is not exactly fear, as it is drenched in confidence. So what is it that I am feeling? I don’t know. But, goodness—what a feeling.

Nine months ago, I got a phone call from a man who (little did I know) would become part of the most crazy and amazing team that would ultimately transform into family. In that 2 hour phone call, as I paced around the lobby at an Upper West Side gym, I had no idea that the person on the other line would be the reason why I would silence my phone at night. I had no idea that the man, and the team that would follow, would consume my lunch breaks via Skype, nor did I know that the person on the other line would often prove to be the catalyst behind waking me up 3 hours before work to discuss logistics. What I did know was that I was joining a team that fell under a theme that we had established was “making the impossible possible.” Alas, we would organize the inaugural TEDxBaghdad conference. 

Amidst war and amidst chaos—you can’t bomb a dream. Livestreaming now, we present TEDxBaghdad.