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The Indoor Event

November 26, 2019

Junior Eric Hao paces the stage as he tells his personal story with eating disorders and depression. Following his speech, HaO performed a dance routine called, “Dance Like No One’s Watching.” Hao’s love for dancing originally started at as a way for him to lose weight, but become a much more expressive form of art for him. Jordan Lee

Students from all six IUSD high schools gathered together to celebrate Irvine Talks’ Chapter 3 on Nov. 23 from 7-9:30 pm. This year’s theme was “Movement,” which featured many different interpretations from this year’s 18 performers, four of which were Portola High students.

From stories of battles with depression and eating disorders to choreographed dances and original music, the event revealed a true theme of unification among audience members, no matter which high school they attended.

“We’ve all done some kind of movement, whether it’s switching a school, changing a mindset, and we just wanted that to be a centralized idea,” vice president Anshay Saboo said. “The whole idea is to understand that we are defined by our perspectives and our experiences as all kids in Irvine. We might think that we’re alone in our experiences, that we’re like nobody really understands what we’re going through, but I want people to understand that this is like we’re in this together.”

Junior Eric Hao paces the stage as he tells his personal story with eating disorders and depression. Following his speech, Hao performed a dance routine called, “Dance Like No One’s Watching.” Hao’s love for dancing originally started at as a way for him to lose weight, but become a much more expressive form of art for him. Senior Jude Chao takes a silent pause before a speech full of laughs and cheering. Chao’s performance, “A Self Worth Having,” expressed his challenges with self doubt and identity, ultimately spreading his message supporting unity and compassion. Jordan Lee

The performances filled the auditorium with both awe-struck silence and passionate cheering, reflecting the dynamic interaction between speaker and audience.

“I was able to find pieces of myself within each story, and it gave me strength and inspiration knowing that everyone is connected by similar struggles and successes,” senior Stephanie Zhang said. “It was touching for me to see how much all the speakers were willing to show their vulnerable stories of ultimate growth.”

Senior Jude Chau’s performance, titled “A Self Worth Having,” was accompanied by moments of tear-inducing laughter, a stark contrast to his serious experience with self-doubt and depression.

“In my talk, I indicated that we can think that we’re moving, but really, we’re just walking in circles, going through the motions. I hope that people took that to heart while listening to my talk,” Chau said. “Nothing gets done if we just sit alone, sulking in our own emotions. Healing and growth takes effort.”

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Jordan Lee, Visuals Director

Jordan Lee, commonly referred to as “The Flash,” is your Visual Director. He has held the positions of front page and photo editors in previous years...

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