Edwin Link, Director of Program Management at Young Audiences, Woodruff Arts Center, discusses tips on making good choices in life. He say, first ask yourself were you are on the Hope-Fear continuum. He asks his student audience to write down their biggest hope and their biggest fear. The audience reveales a great deal about what it’s like to be a high school student. Edwin’s personal career story reminds the kids that opportunities can create challenging forks in the road.
Reviewed by Ben Gross:
After a short vacation for the winter holidays, Grady Talks returned to the halls of Atlanta’s Grady High School with a presentation by Edwin Link, Director of Program Management at the Young Audiences Woodruff Arts Center. Link began by sharing what seemed, at first, like a somewhat out of place message: young people don’t always listen to what adults have to say!
To illustrate the point, Link told the class that when he was a kid, he really wanted to be a fireman. If the adult Edwin had traveled back in time and told his younger self that he wouldn’t be a fireman, Link said he never would have believed it. Still, Link is not a fireman and he loves his job. Thus, Link promised not to get bogged down by specifics that may or may not resonate with the students. Instead, he shared a general rule of thumb – almost a philosophy – that he has developed over the course of his life: the need to maintain balance on the “Hope/fear continuum.”
All of us feel fear, and all of us are hopeful of certain outcomes, Link stated. He continued: when we make decisions, our hope and fear play a role. The secret to good decision-making is to always ask yourself before making an important decision: “Where am I on the hope/ fear continuum?” According to Link, decisions made out of fear amount to inaction and missed opportunities, whereas decisions made strictly out of hope are often impractical. Balance on the hope fear continuum, Link explained, ensures that we can follow our dreams but also have practical and realizable goals.
Link also shared a story from his adolescence with the students. In his first year of high school, Link was a D student and the faculty had all but given up on him. In his sophomore year he was placed in a remedial English class. After a few weeks of school, a student threw a chair at the teacher (which luckily did not hit her, but did destroy the blackboard). That was Link’s “Aha” moment. “I’m not in school to be in classrooms with dented blackboards and crying teachers,” he thought to himself. But when Link went to the guidance counselor to ask to leave the remedial class, the counselor said: “You’re Edwin Link, D student.” Link had been labeled. People expected him to play his part. They expected him to get Ds. It’s hard to overcome expectations, Link continued, especially when they’re negative; but it’s never too late.
Labels are not permanent, no matter what anyone says. He told the students: your life is always yours, and you’re free to take it in whatever direction you please. Link eventually did convince the guidance counselor to remove him from the remedial class, and, despite the labels, he improved his grades and became an accomplished student.
Edwin Link is an actor, teaching artist, arts-in-education advocate and graduate student. He is currently the Director of Program Management at Young Audiences Woodruff Arts Center. After receiving a B.S. in Theatre from Radford University, Edwin traveled nationally with a theatre company and then set down roots in Atlanta. His professional regional work has been with the Georgia Ensemble Theatre, Theater in the Square, Synchronicity Performance Group and the Center for Puppetry Arts, to name a few. Edwin’s favorite experience on stage was playing the character Hal from David Auburn’s “Proof”.
Woodruff Art Center’s Edwin Link recently spoke at Grady High School as part of The Grady Talks Program and received high praise from the students. Check out his entire 37 minute presentation and read the student comments below!
- You are my favorite presenter. What you said about balance really stood out to me. I completely agree that living your life in any extreme, being it fear or hope, is not the best thing to do.
- I took what you said to heart. You asked us to write down our hopes and fears and surprisingly, I’ve never been asked to do that before. Thank you for sharing your story.
- You are the best presenter we’ve had. You have a gift for working with people. Your concepts and ideas are easily understood and very effective.
- I liked your perspective on hope and fear. I think this outlook will help me make holistic decisions in life.
- The presentation was remarkable and very informative. The balance between fear and hope is important and you really have to be in between both.
- Thank you for sharing your ways on decision making. Hopefully it is not patented, because I will be using it.
- Your speech was amazing. I am inspired and encouraged. I encourage you to keep speaking to our generation and make an impact on peoples lives just like you have do for me.
- I really enjoyed your presentation and found it most inspiring.
- The information that you shared was eye-opening. I learned that I should know what I don’t know and explore every option and career.
- The information that you shared was eye-opening. I learned that I should know what I don’t know and explore every option and career.
- I learned some valuable information today and a better perspective for my future.
- Today was a good day due to the fact that you came to speak with us.
- Your talk was very enlightening and taught me to try different activities.
- You give me hope to know that other people who slack a little in school can make a good life. I’m looking forward to the future.
- I really enjoyed your presentation.
- You are pretty cool. I like the continuum, it made me re-evaluate some of the choices that I will be making about my future.
- Thanks Mr. Link, it was great, the best one yet!
EDWIN LINK: KNOW WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW
by Alex Viguerie
SYNOPSIS: Edwin Link, Director of Program Management at Young Audiences Woodruff Arts Center, shares his personal experiences and urges students to strike a balance between hope and fear, and not be deterred by labels.
KEY POINTS:
-2:18-2:58: Edwin poses an important question: where do you stand on the balance between hope and fear?
-7:08-8:35: Here, Edwin discusses the importance of not being defined by a label.
-12:28-13:28: Edwin took advantage of a big change (a move), instead of being afraid of it- reiterating his point regarding fear.
-16:08-18:52: Edwin relays the story of uncovering his passion and how it helped shape his life.
-19:33-20:55: Edwin reiterates his main ideas and applies them to everybody: you don’t have to have your life planned out, but it’s best to approach new situations without too much fear.
-24:27-25:01: Edwin’s idea of when students are most happy learning something.
-30:05-34:43: Edwin shares a personal experience about following his dream and what brought him meaning and happiness.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
-At several points, Edwin pursues different fields despite not having any formal training or education in them. How is this related to what he said about labels?
-Edwin emphasizes striking a balance between hope and fear- more generally, why is balance so important in achieving a successful life.
-What does Edwin’s story say about the difference between personal success and financial success? How are the two related? How are they different?
-While it shouldn’t be all-consuming, why is fear sometimes important and necessary in making decisions?
Hope
- To become a doctor
- To become the best major league baseball player in the world
- Go to college, get a bachelor degree (at least)j, start a successful career, to do something where I’m happy
- Go to Emory for college
- Basic training come through
- Become a professional singer or attend college to become a dermatologist, father to show up
- My greatest hope is getting a scholarship for college and studying finance and accounting, then getting a job with a major corporate company
- Get a good job and have a family
- Full scholarship to Xavier University and continue on to the University of Southern California for Medical school
- To succeed in life
- Stay alive, finish college, keep steady life,
- Move to Oregon and play in the local art music community
- My greatest hope is to be successful in whatever my career is. I just want to be happy and make as much money as I can to be secure and comfortable
- Becoming a PA and making my family and mother happy
- Kick ass in college
- To be successful in a career that I love and to be well respecting in my field
- Finish college and become an industrial engineer
- My greatest hope is that my dreams will come true in being a filmmaker and engineer
- I’ll be able to go to college and play in first year
- To be independent and good at whatever I do
- Being successful
- In the words of Drake and Trey songs, I just want to be successful
- To graduate school with honors and go to U Penn
Fears
- Abandoning my dream and not going to medical school
- Fail to live the lifestyle I wish to
- End up like my mom, brother or sister
- Someone I love dying
- Not accomplishing anything at all
- To become not successful in anything I do
- Not making it to college or through college
- Nothing I can think of
- Not getting into any college and ruining my life
- Death
- Die before I can accomplish life goals
- stuck at a low level manual job in a crappy apartment
- My fear is to fail at things in life and have to depend on my family for a place to live
- Not becoming successful
- My laziness
- To be a nobody
- Not find a job
- I have no fear
- Injuries
- To get too caught up in the things I need to do so that I can’t enjoy my life
- Wasting my life
- To not succeed or not be able to take care of myself
- never graduate, job with no growing room
Edwin Link: Know What You Don’t Know from Grady Talks on Vimeo.