When the bell rang, signaling the beginning of the activity period, there was an audible groan heard from the senior students, who were being forced to attend yet another assembly featuring a guest speaker. 

I entered the auditorium, fully aware that I would be writing this review so for once, I actually had to pay attention. Call me a pessimist, but my fellow students’ complaints let me know that I was not alone in my expectation of boredom and annoyance. However, from the moment I sat down, I could tell that Dr. Tate was an incredibly captivating person. 

She radiated confidence and more importantly, positivity which is something I have personally always felt our previous speakers tended to lack, due to their speeches having darker undertones. 

The world is often a dark place and while it is important every once in a while to remind people of that fact, students are plagued with anxiety as it is. Anytime we get a free moment, we don’t want to focus on the negative but rather, the positive because it inspires us to keep going. 

Recently, I have noticed a trend amongst older generations who tend to dismiss Gen Z. Most of the time, it is because they believe that we are “too sensitive” or “too lazy” to make an impact. That is why it shocked me when she told us that she predicts that we will be an incredibly impactful generation. She contributed this to our refusal to exclude people and our willingness to accept each other’s differences. 

So often when people discuss the future, they just say “well I won’t be around to see the world fall apart, so it doesn’t matter.” That is why it was such a breath of fresh air to hear someone, especially someone of an older generation, take on a positive tone when discussing the future of the world, rather than a “we are all going to die” mentality. 

After watching her presentation, I was honestly a little sad that only the senior class got the opportunity to hear it because I found it to be so insightful and captivating. I overheard a few students petitioning for her to come back and speak next year and honestly, I completely agree.

Dr. Tate preached an inspiring message that more people, particularly young pessimistic people like myself, need to hear because it is such a unique take on the current world as well as the future.