This TED Talk features educator Lisa Godwin recorded live at TED Salon Masterclass 2019.

Everyone has a story, and that story is filled with chapters that have made us who we are today.

Those early chapters of that story sometimes are the ones that define us

the most. The Center for Disease Control has estimated that over half of our nation's children

have experienced at least one or two types of childhood trauma. That adversity can have

lasting effects. When I began to have opportunities to speak and advocate for students and for teachers,

I found myself uniquely positioned to be able to speak about childhood trauma.

But I had to make a decision first.

I had to decide, did I want to just share the bright and shiny parts of my life?

You know, those ones that we put out on social media that makes us all look perfect?

Or did I want to make myself vulnerable and become an open book?

The choice became very clear.

In order to make a difference in the life of a child, I had to become transparent.

So I made the commitment to tell my personal story.

And this story is filled with people that have loved me

and taken care of me and grown me

and have helped me overcome and heal.

And now it's time for me to help others do the same.

When I first started school, I was the picture of normalcy. I was from a good family. I was

always dressed nicely, had a smile on my face.

I was prepared for school.

But my life was anything but normal.

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