TED2018
Rebeca Hwang: The power of diversity within yourself
Rebeca Hwang: Moč raznolikosti v sebi
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Rebeca Hwang že vse svoje življenje težko usklajuje svoje identitete - korejsko dediščino, argentinsko vzgojo, izobraževanje v Združenih državah Amerike - in dolgo je s težavo iskala kraj, ki bi ga lahko imenovala dom. A ob vseh teh izzivih je prišla do ključnega spoznanja: da je v današnjem globaliziranem svetu raznoliko ozadje odločna prednost. V tem osebnem govoru Hwangova razkrije neskončne prednosti sprejemanja lastnih kompleksnih identitet in deli svoje upanje po svetu, kjer identitete ljudi ne bodo oddaljevale, ampak zbliževale.
Rebeca Hwang - Investor
Rebeca Hwang is co-founder and managing director of Rivet Ventures, investing in solutions for women and empowering their choices. Full bio
Rebeca Hwang is co-founder and managing director of Rivet Ventures, investing in solutions for women and empowering their choices. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
We're holding hands,
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Držimo se za roke,
00:14
staring at the door.
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strmimo v vrata.
00:16
My siblings and I were waiting
for my mother to come back
for my mother to come back
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Moji bratje in sestre in jaz smo čakali
na mamo, da se vrne
na mamo, da se vrne
00:19
from the hospital.
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iz bolnišnice.
00:20
She was there because my grandmother
had cancer surgery that day.
had cancer surgery that day.
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Tam je bila, ker je moja babica tistega
dne imela operacijo raka.
dne imela operacijo raka.
00:26
Finally, the doors opened,
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Končno so se vrata odprla
00:29
and she said,
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in rekla je:
00:30
"She's gone.
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"Umrla je.
00:31
She's gone."
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Umrla je."
00:33
She started sobbing and immediately said,
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Začela je hlipati in takoj nato rekla:
00:36
"We must make arrangements.
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"Vse moramo urediti.
00:38
Your grandmother's dying wish
was to be buried back home in Korea."
was to be buried back home in Korea."
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Zadnja želja vaše babice je bila,
da bi bila pokopana doma v Koreji."
da bi bila pokopana doma v Koreji."
00:46
I was barely 12 years old,
and when the shock wore off,
and when the shock wore off,
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Imela sem komaj 12 let
in ko se je šok unesel,
in ko se je šok unesel,
00:50
my mother's words were ringing in my ears.
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so mi mamine besede odzvanjale
v ušesih.
v ušesih.
00:53
My grandmother wanted
to be buried back home.
to be buried back home.
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Moja babica je hotela biti
pokopana v stari domovini.
pokopana v stari domovini.
00:58
We had moved from Korea
to Argentina six years prior,
to Argentina six years prior,
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Iz Koreje smo se preselili v Argentino
pred šestimi leti,
pred šestimi leti,
01:04
without knowing any Spanish,
or how we were going to make a living.
or how we were going to make a living.
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ne da bi govorili špansko, ne da bi
vedeli, s čim se bomo preživljali.
vedeli, s čim se bomo preživljali.
01:09
And upon arrival, we were immigrants
who had lost everything,
who had lost everything,
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Ob prihodu smo bili priseljenci,
ki so izgubili vse,
ki so izgubili vse,
01:13
so we had to work really hard
to rebuild our lives.
to rebuild our lives.
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zato smo morali res trdo delati,
da smo si ponovno zgradili življenje.
da smo si ponovno zgradili življenje.
01:16
So it hadn't occurred to me
that after all these years,
that after all these years,
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Zato mi ni padlo na kraj pameti,
da je po vseh teh letih
da je po vseh teh letih
01:20
back home was still in Korea.
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domovina še vedno Koreja.
01:24
It made me ponder where I would want
to be buried someday,
to be buried someday,
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Začela sem razmišlljati, kje bi rada
jaz nekoč bila pokopana,
jaz nekoč bila pokopana,
01:28
where home was for me,
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kaj zame predstavlja dom,
01:30
and the answer was not obvious.
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in odgovor ni bil očiten.
01:33
And this really bothered me.
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In to me je res morilo.
01:36
So this episode launched
a lifelong quest for my identity.
a lifelong quest for my identity.
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Ta dogodek je tako v meni sprožil
vseživljenjsko iskanje lastne identitete.
vseživljenjsko iskanje lastne identitete.
01:43
I was born in Korea -- the land of kimchi;
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Rodila sem se v Koreji, deželi kimčija;
01:46
raised in Argentina,
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odrasla sem v Argentini,
01:48
where I ate so much steak
that I'm probably 80 percent cow by now;
that I'm probably 80 percent cow by now;
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kjer sem pojedla toliko zrezkov, da
sem zdaj verjetno že 80 odstotkov krava;
sem zdaj verjetno že 80 odstotkov krava;
01:54
and I was educated in the US,
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izobraževala sem se v ZDA,
01:56
where I became addicted to peanut butter.
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kjer sem postala odvisna
od arašidovega masla.
od arašidovega masla.
01:59
(Laughter)
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(smeh)
02:00
During my childhood,
I felt very much Argentinian,
I felt very much Argentinian,
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V otroštvu sem se počutila Argentinko,
02:04
but my looks betrayed me at times.
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a včasih me je izdal moj izgled.
02:07
I remember on the first day
of middle school,
of middle school,
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Spomnim se prvega dne v sedmem razredu,
02:10
my Spanish literature teacher
came into the room.
came into the room.
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ko je v učilnico prišla
učiteljica španske književnosti.
učiteljica španske književnosti.
02:13
She scanned all of my classmates,
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S pogledom je preletela moje sošolce
02:15
and she said,
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in rekla:
02:16
"You -- you have to get a tutor,
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"Ti - moraš si dobiti inštruktorja,
02:18
otherwise, you won't pass this class."
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drugače ne boš naredila tega predmeta."
02:21
But by then I was fluent
in Spanish already,
in Spanish already,
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A takrat sem že tekoče govorila špansko,
02:25
so it felt as though I could be
either Korean or Argentinian,
either Korean or Argentinian,
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tako da se je zdelo, da bi bila lahko
Korejka ali Argentinka,
Korejka ali Argentinka,
02:31
but not both.
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a ne oboje.
02:33
It felt like a zero-sum game,
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Bilo je kot igra z enim zmagovalcem,
02:35
where I had to give up my old identity
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v kateri se moram odreči
svoji stari identiteti,
svoji stari identiteti,
02:38
to be able to gain or earn a new one.
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da bom lahko pridobila
ali si zaslužila novo.
ali si zaslužila novo.
02:43
So when I was 18,
I decided to go to Korea,
I decided to go to Korea,
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Ko sem bila torej stara 18 let,
sem se odločila oditi v Korejo
sem se odločila oditi v Korejo
02:47
hoping that finally I could find
a place to call home.
a place to call home.
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v upanju, da bom končno našla
kraj, ki ga bom lahko imenovala dom.
kraj, ki ga bom lahko imenovala dom.
02:51
But there people asked me,
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A tam so me ljudje spraševali:
02:53
"Why do you speak Korean
with a Spanish accent?"
with a Spanish accent?"
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"Zakaj govoriš korejsko
s španskim naglasom?
s španskim naglasom?
02:56
(Laughter)
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(smeh)
02:57
And, "You must be Japanese
because of your big eyes
because of your big eyes
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Prav gotovo si Japonka,
ker imaš velike oči
ker imaš velike oči
03:01
and your foreign body language."
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in tujo telesno govorico."
03:04
And so it turns out that I was
too Korean to be Argentinian,
too Korean to be Argentinian,
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Torej sem bila preveč korejska,
da bi bila Argentinka,
da bi bila Argentinka,
03:08
but too Argentinian to be Korean.
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a tudi preveč argentinska,
da bi bila Korejka.
da bi bila Korejka.
03:11
And this was a pivotal realization to me.
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In to je bilo zame ključno spoznanje.
03:15
I had failed to find that place
in the world to call home.
in the world to call home.
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Ni mi uspelo najti tistega kraja na svetu,
ki bi ga imenovala dom.
ki bi ga imenovala dom.
03:20
But how many Japanese-looking Koreans
who speak with a Spanish accent --
who speak with a Spanish accent --
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A koliko Korejcev z japonskim izgledom,
ki govorijo s španskim naglasom,
ki govorijo s španskim naglasom,
03:26
or even more specific,
Argentinian accent --
Argentinian accent --
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ali celo bolj specifično -
z argentinskim naglasom -
z argentinskim naglasom -
03:29
do you think are out there?
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pa mislite, da je na svetu?
03:31
Perhaps this could be an advantage.
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Morda bi to lahko bila prednost.
03:34
It was easy for me to stand out,
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Z lahkoto sem izstopala,
03:36
which couldn't hurt in a world
that was rapidly changing,
that was rapidly changing,
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kar ne more biti slabo v hitro
spreminjajočem se svetu,
spreminjajočem se svetu,
03:40
where skills could become
obsolete overnight.
obsolete overnight.
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kjer lahko znanje čez noč
postane zastarelo.
postane zastarelo.
03:43
So I stopped looking
for that 100 percent commonality
for that 100 percent commonality
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Tako sem v ljudeh, ki sem jih
srečala, nehala iskati
srečala, nehala iskati
03:50
with the people that I met.
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stoodstotne podobnosti.
03:51
Instead, I realized that oftentimes,
I was the only overlap
I was the only overlap
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Namesto tega sem se zavedla,
da sem pogosto edini faktor sovpadanja
da sem pogosto edini faktor sovpadanja
03:58
between groups of people that were
usually in conflict with each other.
usually in conflict with each other.
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med skupinami ljudi, ki so ponavadi
v konfliktu drug z drugim.
v konfliktu drug z drugim.
04:03
So with this realization in mind,
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S tem zavedanjem v mislih
04:06
I decided to embrace all
of the different versions of myself --
of the different versions of myself --
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sem se odločila sprejeti vse
različne verzije same sebe
različne verzije same sebe
04:10
even allow myself
to reinvent myself at times.
to reinvent myself at times.
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in si celo dovolila, da sem
se včasih na novo odkrila.
se včasih na novo odkrila.
04:15
So for example, in high school,
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V srednji šoli sem na primer bila,
04:18
I have to confess I was a mega-nerd.
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moram priznati, super piflarka.
04:20
I had no sense of fashion --
thick glasses, simple hairstyle --
thick glasses, simple hairstyle --
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Imela nisem nobenega smisla za modo -
debela očala, preprosta frizura -
debela očala, preprosta frizura -
04:24
you can get the idea.
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lahko si predstavljate.
04:25
I think, actually, I only had friends
because I shared my homework.
because I shared my homework.
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Mislim, da sem imela prijatelje samo
zato, ker so od mene prepisovali nalogo.
zato, ker so od mene prepisovali nalogo.
04:30
That's the truth.
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To je resnica.
04:31
But once at university,
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A ko sem bila enkrat na univerzi,
04:33
I was able to find
a new identity for myself,
a new identity for myself,
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mi je uspelo najti novo identiteto
04:37
and the nerd became a popular girl.
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in piflarka je postala popularna punca.
04:42
But it was MIT,
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A hodila sem na tehniško univerzo
v Massachusettsu,
v Massachusettsu,
04:43
so I don't know if I can take
too much credit for that.
too much credit for that.
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tako da ne vem, če se s tem lahko
zares hvalim.
zares hvalim.
04:45
As they say over there,
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Z njihovimi besedami:
04:47
"The odds are good,
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"Dobro kaže,
04:49
but the goods are odd."
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dobrote pa so slabe."
04:52
(Laughter)
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(smeh)
04:55
I switched majors so many times
that my advisors joked
that my advisors joked
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Tolikokrat sem zamenjala svojo
študijsko smer, da se je moj svetovalec
študijsko smer, da se je moj svetovalec
04:58
that I should get a degree
in "random studies."
in "random studies."
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šalil, da naj diplomiram
iz 'poljubnih študij'.
iz 'poljubnih študij'.
05:02
(Laughter)
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(smeh)
05:03
I told this to my kids.
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To sem povedala svojim otrokom.
05:05
And then over the years, I have gained
a lot of different identities.
a lot of different identities.
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In potem, skozi leta, sem pridobila
veliko različnih identintet.
veliko različnih identintet.
05:10
I started as an inventor,
entrepreneur, social innovator.
entrepreneur, social innovator.
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Začela sem kot izumiteljica, podjetnica,
družbena inovatorka.
družbena inovatorka.
05:14
Then I became an investor,
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Nato sem postala investitorka,
05:17
a woman in tech,
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ženska v tehnologiji,
05:18
a teacher.
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učiteljica.
05:20
And most recently, I became a mom,
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In nazadnje sem postala mama ali,
05:23
or as my toddler says repeatedly,
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kakor moj malček nenehno ponavlja,
05:26
"Mom!" day and night.
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'mami' noč in dan.
05:30
Even my accent was so confused --
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Celo moj naglas je bil precej zmeden.
05:35
its origin was so obscure,
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Njegov izvor je bil neznan,
05:38
that my friends called it, "Rebecanese."
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da so ga moji prijatelji imenovali
'rebekanščina'.
'rebekanščina'.
05:41
(Laughter)
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(smeh)
05:43
But reinventing yourself can be very hard.
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A odkrivanje samega sebe je lahko
zelo težko.
zelo težko.
05:46
You can face a lot of resistance at times.
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Občasno se soočiš z veliko nasprotovanja.
05:49
When I was nearly done with my PhD,
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Ko sem skoraj končala svoj doktorat,
05:52
I got bitten by that entrepreneurial bug.
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se je v meni sprožila podjetniška žilica.
05:55
I was in Silicon Valley,
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Bila sem v Silicijevi dolini
05:57
and so writing a thesis in the basement
didn't seem as interesting
didn't seem as interesting
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in pisanje doktorske teze v kleti
se mi ni zdelo tako zanimivo
se mi ni zdelo tako zanimivo
06:02
as starting my own company.
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kot snovanje lastnega podjetja.
06:04
So I went to my very
traditional Korean parents,
traditional Korean parents,
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Zato sem šla k svojim
zelo tradicionalnim korejskim staršem,
zelo tradicionalnim korejskim staršem,
06:07
who are here today,
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ki so danes tu,
06:09
with the task of letting them know
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z namenom, da jim povem,
06:10
that I was going to drop out
from my PhD program.
from my PhD program.
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da se bom izpisala iz doktorskega študija.
06:14
You see, my siblings and I are the first
generation to go to university,
generation to go to university,
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Veste, moji bratje in sestre in jaz smo
prva generacija, ki smo šli na univerzo,
prva generacija, ki smo šli na univerzo,
06:18
so for a family of immigrants,
this was kind of a big deal.
this was kind of a big deal.
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zato je bilo to za priseljeniško
družino nekaj pomembnega.
družino nekaj pomembnega.
06:22
You can imagine how
this conversation was going to go.
this conversation was going to go.
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Lahko si predstavljate,
kako je potekal tisti pogovor.
kako je potekal tisti pogovor.
06:26
But fortunately, I had
a secret weapon with me,
a secret weapon with me,
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A na srečo sem imela
s seboj skrivno orožje,
s seboj skrivno orožje,
06:30
which was a chart that had
the average income of all of the graduates
the average income of all of the graduates
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razpredelnico s povprečnim zaslužkom
vseh diplomirancev
vseh diplomirancev
06:36
from Stanford PhD programs,
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iz doktorskih programov na
stanfordski univerzi,
stanfordski univerzi,
06:39
and then the average income
of all the dropouts
of all the dropouts
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in potem še povprečni zaslužek
vseh, ki so izstopili
vseh, ki so izstopili
06:42
from Stanford graduate programs.
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iz stanforskih dodiplomskih programov.
06:44
(Laughter)
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(smeh)
06:45
I must tell you -- this chart
was definitely skewed
was definitely skewed
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Moram vam povedati - to razpredelnico
so ustanovitelji Googla
so ustanovitelji Googla
06:48
by the founders of Google.
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prav gotovo popačili.
06:49
(Laughter)
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(smeh)
06:50
But my mom looked at the chart,
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A moja mama je pogledala razpredelnico
06:52
and she said,
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in rekla:
06:54
"Oh, for you -- follow your passion."
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"Oh, zate - sledi svoji strasti."
06:57
(Laughter)
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(smeh)
06:59
Hi, Mom.
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Zdravo, mami.
07:02
Now, today my identity quest
is no longer to find my tribe.
is no longer to find my tribe.
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Danes moje iskanje identitete ni več
iskanje svojega plemena.
iskanje svojega plemena.
07:08
It's more about allowing myself
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Gre bolj za to, da si dovolim,
07:11
to embrace all of the possible
permutations of myself
permutations of myself
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da sprejmem vse mogoče
permutacije same sebe
permutacije same sebe
07:15
and cultivating diversity within me
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in kultiviram raznolikost znotraj sebe,
07:20
and not just around me.
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ne le okoli sebe.
07:23
My boys now are three years
and five months old today,
and five months old today,
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Moja fanta sta danes stara tri leta
in pet mesecev
in pet mesecev
07:27
and they were already born
with three nationalities
with three nationalities
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in že rodila sta se s tremi narodnostmi
07:30
and four languages.
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in štirimi jeziki.
07:32
I should mention now that my husband
is actually from Denmark --
is actually from Denmark --
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Omeniti moram, da je moj mož iz Danske -
07:37
just in case I don't have enough
culture shocks in my life,
culture shocks in my life,
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da ne bi slučajno imela
v življenju premalo kulturnih šokov,
v življenju premalo kulturnih šokov,
07:40
I decided to marry a Danish guy.
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sem se odločila poročiti z Dancem.
07:42
In fact, I think my kids
will be the first Vikings
will be the first Vikings
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Pravzaprav menim, da bosta moja otroka
prva Vikinga,
prva Vikinga,
07:45
who will have a hard time
growing a beard when they become older.
growing a beard when they become older.
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ki jima bo, ko odrasteta,
brada bolj težko rasla.
brada bolj težko rasla.
07:48
(Laughter)
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(smeh)
07:50
Yeah, we'll have to work on that.
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Ja, na tem bomo še morali delati.
07:51
But I really hope that they will find
that their multiplicity
that their multiplicity
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A resnično upam, da bosta
ugotovila, da jima bo njuna raznolikost
ugotovila, da jima bo njuna raznolikost
07:58
is going to open and create a lot of doors
for them in their lives,
for them in their lives,
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odprla in ustvarila številna vrata
v življenju
v življenju
08:01
and that they can use this as a way
to find commonality
to find commonality
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in da bosta to znala izkoristiti
kot način, kako najti podobnost
kot način, kako najti podobnost
08:05
in a world that's
increasingly global today.
increasingly global today.
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v svetu, ki je danes
vedno bolj globalen.
vedno bolj globalen.
08:10
I hope that instead of feeling
anxious and worried
anxious and worried
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Upam, da bosta, namesto da bi bila
zaskrbljena,
zaskrbljena,
08:14
that they don't fit in that one box
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da ne spadata v svoje okolje
08:16
or that their identity will become
irrelevant someday,
irrelevant someday,
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ali da bo njuna identiteta nekoč
nepomembna,
nepomembna,
08:20
that they can feel free to experiment
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lahko odprta za eksperimentiranje
08:23
and to take control of their personal
narrative and identity.
narrative and identity.
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in da bosta prevzela nadzor
nad svojo lastno zgodbo in identiteto.
nad svojo lastno zgodbo in identiteto.
08:29
I also hope that they will use
their unique combination
their unique combination
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Prav tako upam, da bosta uporabila
svojo edinstveno kombinacijo
svojo edinstveno kombinacijo
08:32
of values and languages
and cultures and skills
and cultures and skills
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vrednot in jezikov in kultur in znanj,
08:37
to help create a world
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da bosta pomagala usvariti svet,
08:39
where identities are no longer used
to alienate what looks different,
to alienate what looks different,
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v katerem se identitet ne bo več
uporabljalo za odtujevanje tistega,
uporabljalo za odtujevanje tistega,
08:45
but rather, to bring together people.
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kar izgleda drugačno,
ampak raje za zbliževanje ljudi.
ampak raje za zbliževanje ljudi.
08:49
And most importantly, I really hope
that they find tremendous joy
that they find tremendous joy
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In najbolj pomembno, resnično
upam, da bosta z izjemnim veseljem
upam, da bosta z izjemnim veseljem
08:53
in going through these
uncharted territories,
uncharted territories,
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potovala po teh neraziskanih področjih,
08:57
because I know I have.
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ker vem, da jaz sem.
09:01
Now, as for my grandmother,
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Kar se tiče moje babice,
09:04
her last wish was also
her last lesson to me.
her last lesson to me.
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je bila njena zadnja želja
tudi njen zadnji nauk zame.
tudi njen zadnji nauk zame.
09:09
It turns out that it was never
about going back to Korea
about going back to Korea
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Kot kaže, ni šlo nikoli
za vrnitev v Korejo
za vrnitev v Korejo
09:13
and being buried there.
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in za njen pokop tam.
09:15
It was about resting next to her son,
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Šlo je za to, da je želela
počivati s svojim sinom,
počivati s svojim sinom,
09:19
who had died long before
she moved to Argentina.
she moved to Argentina.
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ki je umrl, dolgo preden se je
preselila v Argentino.
preselila v Argentino.
09:23
What mattered to her was not the ocean
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Kar ji je bilo pomembno, ni bil ocean,
09:27
that divided her past and new world;
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ki je razdelil njen prejšnji in novi svet;
09:32
it was about finding common ground.
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šlo je za iskanje skupne točke.
09:37
Thank you.
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Hvala.
09:39
(Applause)
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(aplavz)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Rebeca Hwang - InvestorRebeca Hwang is co-founder and managing director of Rivet Ventures, investing in solutions for women and empowering their choices.
Why you should listen
Rebeca Hwang is co-founder and managing director of Rivet Ventures, which invests in companies in women-led markets where female usage, decision-making and purchasing are crucial to company growth. Hwang is also co-founder of the San Francisco-based startup YouNoodle, which connects top startups with opportunities for growth. She also co-founded Kalei Ventures, a venture fund focused in Latin American startups.
With a background in chemical and civil and environmental engineering from MIT and Stanford, Hwang's work has garnered three US patents, and she has 17 pending patent applications in her portfolio. She has been recognized as one of MIT Tech Review's "Top 35 Global Innovators under 35" and as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. Hwang serves in the Board of the Global Entrepreneurship Network, which annually runs GEW in 170 countries and gathers 10 million participants. As the co-founder of Cleantech Open, she has helped more than 1,000 cleantech startups raise in excess of $1 billion in external funding. In addition, Hwang is a lecturer at Stanford University and teaches technology entrepreneurship.
Rebeca Hwang | Speaker | TED.com