My third TED talk reflection is based off of "Zak Ebrahim: I am the son of a terrorist. Here's how I chose peace."
This talk is mostly about the labels that society places on us based off of our family heritage. Ebrahim explains that he was bullied at a young age for his weight, but he would have suffered much worse had they known his father was an Islamic extremist.
He then goes on to recall a memory of when his father brought him to a shooting range. He was given a rifle and told to shoot a specific target. After shooting the target perfectly, friends of his father's whom were at the sight said in Arabic "Like father, like son."
Growing up, Ebrahim was taught to judge people solely on outer characteristics such as race or religion. After making a homosexual friend and a Jewish friend, he grew to counter the way he was taught by his father.
He ended up breaking away from the ways he grew up and grew to see the light in people's hearts rather than the way they're seen on the outside.
Looking towards the future, his mother told him "I'm tired of hating people" and thus his world view was completely changed.
He hopes that his story can be used to fight against terrorism, and to realize that a son doesn't have to grow to be his father.
He ends his talk by saying "I am not my father."
This talk really connects to me personally because for my family, being a medical major is very common. Basically all of my relatives are doctors, and I've been thinking of straying away from that path. I'm not entirely sure yet, but it might happen. So after listening to this talk I have the courage to do what makes me happy now, not to just blindly follow in the footsteps of my elders.