Education Beyond Academics | Muugi Smith | TEDxQuantum STEM Youth

At 15, the speaker believed life would be perfect by 40, understanding everything and knowing herself. This belief stemmed from a 40-year-old teacher who seemed to have it all. However, life doesn't unfold as a finished version but in seasons, each with lessons. Her 20s were a passionate rush as a journalist, editor, and translator, yet she was still searching for direction and meaning. Her 30s brought motherhood, a beautiful but overwhelming experience that shifted her identity and forced her to slow down. This was a difficult, isolated, and quiet season. Then, life presented an unexpected challenge: she nearly died in her 30s, falling into a coma. In that space between life and death, she experienced profound peace and was told to return for her family. This near-death experience profoundly changed her perspective, making her realize life is not something to wait for, but to live every day. It was a second chance to ask not what to achieve, but how to live. This led her to an unexpected path: education. Her previous volunteer work, reading to children and talking to young patients, had quietly prepared her to sit with pain and listen without fixing. Stepping into the classroom was difficult; students challenged her, even calling her a "monster." Instead of controlling them, she chose to understand them, listening to their fears and dreams. This transformed her classroom into a calmer, more connected space. Recently, her high school students asked her not to leave until they graduated, calling her their "mom at school." In that moment, she realized she had become the person her 15-year-old self was searching for. Now in her 40s, she understands that life didn't end but finally began, not because she had everything figured out, but because she allowed herself to grow. She advises her younger self, and others, not to rush, as life is a journey through seasons, even the confusing or painful ones, all shaping who we are becoming. We are never truly finished becoming.