Adah Parris‘ talk was truly inspiring. I was mesmerized by her glowing smile and bright clothing showing no sense of hidden identity, it was lovely to see someone so inherently themselves. From listening to her journey from working at the SCA to her narrative of identity and how she learned to acknowledge what she wants rather than pleasing others along the way. She capitalized on using how to use your traits and the way you think as your superpower, having been diagnosed with ADHD and Autism it helped her in a unique way to have profound ideas. 

We as the human race are constantly seeking a religion. Either that be AI and emerging technology or something more ethereal to latch on to. It was an interesting insight from Adah that all paths lead down one road, fundamentally we are just trying to understand ourselves. We only understand our human nature in opposition to what is not human. Although we are learning about ourselves in opposition to AI, we do this by trying to make AI inventantly closer to being human.

I felt an immense sense of introspection during Adah’s talk. Ancestry was a major theme she spoke about. But not in the way people expect. We are ancestors right now to future generations. We need to think consciously about our decisions and choices and how this will impact those down the line. We are inconsequential beings, yet we feel as the human race we have the most impact. We don’t inherit from our ancestors, we steal from our children. Therefore I learnt it’s truly important to think about the implications of our work in advertising and to make sure authenticity is at the heart of it all. If the work isn’t true, or said in the correct tone it is just a projection of what you presume. However, the work doesn’t alway have to be liked, it just has to be true and authentic. This was apparent in a phrase that Adah mentioned which really resonated with me was that ‘art isn’t always meant to be liked..it is meant to make you feel something’. Not everyone will like what you make but the key is whether it invokes enough emotion to make them talk, question and contemplate the piece of communication.

Although authenticity in the work is truly important, it is also vital to be authentic to yourself and others. We are all an iceberg, we only show the tip of ourselves and can’t just expect people to understand all of our life experiences to know why we act in certain ways. We’ve got to be clear communicators. Take your ego out of your work as there is a fine line between ego and narcissism. Adah then proceeded to ask everyone a question, ‘put your hand up if you’re a people pleaser’. The majority of the room hands slowly raised. ‘People pleasing is manipulation with a smile’. This made me stand still in my tracks. It’s important to understand yourself and to not seek validation from others. You have to be able to feel whole without the input of others. If we chase others, we will only be an amalgamation of their thoughts and desires and lose the essence of what makes us who we are. What I will be taking forward with me onto further projects is to be an authentic clear communicator, think about how my work as an ancestor will impact those down the line and to stay curious as life is a series of experiments.

@hannahjund87515