Transcript:

Athena Hey everyone, my name is Athena and I’m so excited to tell you about my conversation with Maximiliano on meaning. I don’t know about you, but for us, meaning can be very personal, like avoiding drama in school or enjoying the little things in life. Or it could be more universal, like discovering our purpose and values. Either way, there’s something here for everyone. Stay tuned and let’s take a deep dive together.

Maya Hi there. You are listening to ListenUp! The KidSpirit Podcast. My name is Maya Mesh, and I am your host for today. I am a KidSpirit alum, and I’m so excited to be here with you!

A little bit more about KidSpirit: KidSpirit is an online nonprofit magazine by and for teens everywhere to tackle life’s big questions. So over the last 15 years, KidSpirit has published writing, artwork, and poetry that gets at the heart of our shared experience.

Today, I am joined by Athena and Maximiliano to talk about meaning.

Maximiliano My name is Maximiliano Mesh, and I have been a KidSpirit editor for five years now. Some things that I enjoy doing in my free time include riding my bike with my dad in Central Park, playing table tennis, and studying classical guitar. KidSpirit has given me a great opportunity to make friends from all around the world and to greatly improve my writing skills. I’m very honored to be here with my fellow editor, Athena.

Athena Hi, Max. It’s nice to see you. I’m so excited about this conversation. I’m Athena, and I’m KidSpirit editor from New Jersey. In my free time, I enjoy writing poetry, listening to music, and participating in my school play. 

Today, we’re going to talk about some big questions about meaning and some questions that are more about everyday life meaning that everyone can relate to.For example, some forms of meaning that every teen relates to right now is friendship, finding confidence, and trying to fit in at school wherever you are. Some more profound meanings are family, culture, and traditions.

Maya Now we’re going to hear from Isabel, a KidSpirit editor from Australia, and she’s going to tell us what she finds meaningful at the moment. Thank you for joining us, Isabel.

Isabel Right now, what’s most meaningful in my life is watching Emma McKeon’s career in professional swimming draw to a close in her last Olympic Games. I’ve followed the Australian national swim team and Emma McKeon since the Rio Olympics in 2016, when I was at the impressionable age of eight, just having made my school swim team in the 50-meter freestyle with a trial time similar to her 100-meter times. But it was only in the Olympics of 2021, when I was a little more grown, that I truly realised how good she was at swimming and how admirable her hard-working spirit was. After almost two years of lockdown, I had barely trained and was unsure about continuing in the sport. found solace and inspiration in Emma’s unwavering dedication and continual improvement that was undoubtedly due to her hard work during such a tough time. As I watched Emma McKeon’s competitive swimming career sing its final notes, it is deeply meaningful to me to see my role model, whose strength, diligence, and passion have profoundly inspired and influenced me as a person, take her final bow.

Maya Has meaning changed from when you were younger, and how do you think it will change as you get older?

Athena Meaning in my life has definitely changed from when I was younger to now. Because when I was younger, I really thought about just living my life slowly and not doing anything that might make me sad. And then now I just feel like I need to stay away from conflict with my friends. And then when I’m older, I think it’s just going to repeat back to when I was younger. And it’s kind of like the circle of life trying to stay happy and basically when I was younger I had the same feelings and thoughts I think how I will feel when I’m older. 

So did you have any drama at school when you were in middle school or anything like that? Were you trying to live slowly like with your life?

Maximiliano At the time I wasn’t consciously thinking about living life slowly, but as I’ve matured that’s certainly become very important to me—to take my time with things and to make the best out of all situations. So I certainly agree.

For me, when I was younger, I found meaning in hanging out with friends and socializing and getting to know people. It’s going to continue being meaningful for me as I proceed through life always, as friendships are super important. However, as I’m finishing up high school, I’m finding a lot of meaning in education and learning as much as I can, trying new things. I find that I’ve learned new things about myself and that’s extremely important as now’s the time to do it.

Maya In her Big Question article, Sybille from Haiti wrote, “Our entire existence is determined by how we react to the cards we are dealt with and what lessons we take away from our circumstances.” How does this strike you?

Isabel Sybille’s statement is certainly inspirational, inspiring personal agency and growth. And indeed, our characters and personalities are influenced by a combination of our unique experiences and the inherent traits we are born with, cards we are dealt later in life and cards we are dealt at the moment we were conceived. And while the circumstances or cards we face may set the stage, it is our reactions that define us.

In light of this, I strive to approach these challenges with kindness and compassion. I think that when my physical existence does not exist in this world anymore, I would like to be remembered not just by my achievements and having reacted in a way that provided me with a successful career, but the instances that I reacted to my cards as a loving friend, daughter, and sister.

Maya Do you think that meaning is universal, or is it something that we define for ourselves?

Maximiliano I believe that wanting to find meaning in life is a universal experience and desire. However, from person to person, this can change dramatically. For example, for me, I like to ride with my dad in the mornings and catch up with his life and socialize with him. However, the next person might feel differently to the next. What’s your opinion?

Athena Well, I think that the whole purpose of meaning and like how you experience meaning is through what’s going like what’s going on in your life and what’s happening around you because no one lives the exact same life that everybody else does so depending on the different person and what they’re experiencing through their lives depends on actually what what’s meaningful for them.

Maya Do you think meaning is universal or do we make it ourselves?

Isabel Meaning is something we create for ourselves. Our pursuits, whether this be from something grand like winning an Olympic gold, or even just getting up in the morning and preparing a healthy breakfast, gain significance as they are challenges that require hard work to overcome. This personal investment transforms ordinary tasks into meaningful achievements. The effort we pour into these endeavours, the sacrifices we make, and the obstacles we overcome all contribute to their intrinsic value. However, the meaningfulness of our hard work is often an internal experience, others may not see or fully understand the dedication and struggle behind our achievements.

Thus, we ultimately make meaning for ourselves through our recognition of the journeys we’ve taken, whether that be one known to the world or one that is private.

Maya Each issue of KidSpirit features an article written by an adult in a column called PerSpectives. Kaitlin Curtice, a speaker, author, poet, and member of the Potawatomi Nation, contributed her wisdom to KidSpirit for the issue Finding Meaning. In her piece, Kaitlin observes, “There are so many ways to consider making life meaningful.” What is meaningful in your life right now?

Athena Well, the way I make my life meaningful is by focusing on positive thoughts in my mind and staying away from the negative thoughts, even though it’s really hard to do that, it’s important that you do because I feel like positive thoughts will just make you live a happier life.

And by keeping meaning for that, I write poetry and I also listen to music and that’s what makes me happy and see the bigger picture in life. What about you, Maximiliano? What do you think about the big picture of meaning and how it affects your life?

Maximiliano Absolutely. So recently, I picked up riding my bicycle with my father. And it’s really given us a great time to spend with each other because our days can be busy between clubs and him with work. Therefore, making sure that we have time to ride in the park, talk to each other, and get some exercise in, all simultaneously can be very, very valuable for me. 

I think it’s awesome that you’ve been able to use writing to better express yourself and to find meaning. And I think that’s a great thing that KidSpirit has helped teenagers from all around the world do. Whether it’s through writing, through videos, or through art, KidSpirit has given us an outlet to express ourselves and an outlet to receive feedback from people from all over the world. I want to thank you so much for being here with me on this new KidSpirit project. And thank you again.

Athena Thank you.

Maya Thank you all for joining us today on ListenUp! the place to be to discuss life’s big questions. We want to hear from you. Please email us at info at kidspiritonline.com and we hope to see you next time.