full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Shantell Martin: How drawing can set you free

Unscramble the Blue Letters


As a kid growing up in a cuinocl estate in Southeast London, I was an outsider. I'm the oldest of six kids, and all of my siblings look very English: bolnd hair, blue eyes, very cute. And then there was me: half Nigerian, brown, with an Afro. So what happens when you look different and you feel different, and in many ways, start to think differently from everyone and everything around you? How do you find your way out of a dark, racist, homophobic and very lonely place?

This is where the pen comes in. I started to draw. So as you can see, I've got this pen, and it knows where it's going. And I've learned very well how to follow it. And the first thing I did is I followed this line, and I drew myself out of a culutre that was only tnlelig me what I couldn't do. I trusted my pen, and it led me to Central snait Martin's, a very fcany art school in London, where I graduated top of my year. However, I soon riezelad there wasn't a pcale for me in London, because whether you wish to believe it or not, England is still a country that is rooted and functions within the class system. And as a yuong, black, gay female artist from a working-class faimly, I didn't stand a chance.

Open Cloze


As a kid growing up in a _______ estate in Southeast London, I was an outsider. I'm the oldest of six kids, and all of my siblings look very English: _____ hair, blue eyes, very cute. And then there was me: half Nigerian, brown, with an Afro. So what happens when you look different and you feel different, and in many ways, start to think differently from everyone and everything around you? How do you find your way out of a dark, racist, homophobic and very lonely place?

This is where the pen comes in. I started to draw. So as you can see, I've got this pen, and it knows where it's going. And I've learned very well how to follow it. And the first thing I did is I followed this line, and I drew myself out of a _______ that was only _______ me what I couldn't do. I trusted my pen, and it led me to Central _____ Martin's, a very _____ art school in London, where I graduated top of my year. However, I soon ________ there wasn't a _____ for me in London, because whether you wish to believe it or not, England is still a country that is rooted and functions within the class system. And as a _____, black, gay female artist from a working-class ______, I didn't stand a chance.

Solution


  1. telling
  2. place
  3. fancy
  4. realized
  5. young
  6. family
  7. blond
  8. saint
  9. council
  10. culture

Original Text


As a kid growing up in a council estate in Southeast London, I was an outsider. I'm the oldest of six kids, and all of my siblings look very English: blond hair, blue eyes, very cute. And then there was me: half Nigerian, brown, with an Afro. So what happens when you look different and you feel different, and in many ways, start to think differently from everyone and everything around you? How do you find your way out of a dark, racist, homophobic and very lonely place?

This is where the pen comes in. I started to draw. So as you can see, I've got this pen, and it knows where it's going. And I've learned very well how to follow it. And the first thing I did is I followed this line, and I drew myself out of a culture that was only telling me what I couldn't do. I trusted my pen, and it led me to Central Saint Martin's, a very fancy art school in London, where I graduated top of my year. However, I soon realized there wasn't a place for me in London, because whether you wish to believe it or not, England is still a country that is rooted and functions within the class system. And as a young, black, gay female artist from a working-class family, I didn't stand a chance.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations




Important Words


  1. afro
  2. art
  3. artist
  4. black
  5. blond
  6. blue
  7. brown
  8. central
  9. chance
  10. class
  11. council
  12. country
  13. culture
  14. cute
  15. dark
  16. differently
  17. draw
  18. drew
  19. england
  20. estate
  21. eyes
  22. family
  23. fancy
  24. feel
  25. female
  26. find
  27. follow
  28. functions
  29. gay
  30. graduated
  31. growing
  32. hair
  33. homophobic
  34. kid
  35. kids
  36. learned
  37. led
  38. line
  39. london
  40. lonely
  41. nigerian
  42. oldest
  43. outsider
  44. pen
  45. place
  46. racist
  47. realized
  48. rooted
  49. saint
  50. school
  51. siblings
  52. southeast
  53. stand
  54. start
  55. started
  56. system
  57. telling
  58. top
  59. trusted
  60. ways
  61. year
  62. young