When giving up is not an option! Suela Lala at TEDxTiranaWomen
The speaker argues that rebuilding her life after a spinal cord injury, despite a lack of institutional support in Albania, is her greatest achievement, drawing strength from the realization that one's mind, not fate, limits one's potential. She proves this by stating she has not used any cleaning tools for over 16 years, earning a proper education, and establishing a social enterprise to help disabled persons. She concludes with the message that continuous striving is valuable regardless of guaranteed success.
## Speakers & Context
- Speaker: Unnamed individual from Albania.
- Context: Given the opportunity to speak at TEDex Tirana Women.
- Initial struggles: Refusing traditional feminine roles, such as domestic assignments, to pursue independent education and global travel.
- Post-injury struggle: Faced poor health system support and early professional belief that she would not survive the injury.
- Professional advocacy: Initially hesitant about sharing personal details with the media, concerned about how disabilities are portrayed (as "superheroes or as persons in need of mercy").
## Theses & Positions
- The biggest accomplishment is not giving up, especially when society pressures individuals to downgrade their potential.
- True self-definition is possible despite physical limitations imposed by disability or tradition.
- The act of striving itself is valuable, regardless of whether success is guaranteed.
- Intellectual growth must be a lifelong pursuit, commencing at birth and ceasing only at death.
- Personal success is meaningless if it is not shared and put into service for others.
## Concepts & Definitions
- **Quadriplegia:** Functional outcome following a neck-level spinal cord injury.
- **Inclusive/Friendly Country:** Context describing the disability accessibility limitations in Albania.
- **Social Business:** A venture established to provide integration and employment opportunities for persons with disabilities.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- **Self-Definition:** Actively rejecting prescribed roles (e.g., domestic chores) to define one's own life path.
- **Advocacy/Service:** Converting personal experience and knowledge into public service to "open minds" regarding disability.
- **Overcoming Limitations:** Using technology (voice dictation program) and external knowledge (biographies) to model a path forward when local role models were unavailable.
- **Entrepreneurship:** Establishing the café named Aona to create employment opportunities for persons with disabilities.
## Timeline & Sequence
- Childhood: Grew up in a small town in northeast Albania.
- Pre-injury aspiration: Desire to be independent, well-educated, and travel the world.
- **1997:** Accidentally shot by random ballot during a crisis in Albania.
- Post-injury time: Struggled for years to find direction, with no internet initially available for role models.
- Current advocacy: Engaging in training and consulting for international development organizations in Albania.
- Immediate future: Starting the café named Aona next month.
## Named Entities
- **Albania:** Country of origin; context of the accident and ongoing challenges.
- **Tirana:** Location where the speaker was invited to speak (TEDex Tirana Women).
- **Christopher Ree:** Actor famous for Superman and an early advocate for quadriplegic people.
- **Madlin Albright:** Woman whose words are quoted regarding the value of striving.
## Numbers & Data
- Age of injury: **14 years old**.
- Years without using cleaning tools: **more than 16 years**.
- Age at time of injury: Implicitly between childhood and 14 years old.
## Examples & Cases
- **Refusal of domestic roles:** Refusing to engage in household assignments or learn to cook despite maternal efforts.
- **Accident:** Shot by random ballot in 1997 while traveling between hospitals over the summer.
- **Educational struggle:** Missing the opportunity to attend school that fall after the injury, which was more overwhelming than losing limb control.
- **Role Model search:** Family researching Christopher Ree and reading biographies of American women with similar injuries.
- **Current professional work:** Working as a trainer consultant for disability organizations and international development organizations in Albania.
- **Social Enterprise:** Winning the first social business competition in Albania and starting the café named Aona.
## Tools, Tech & Products
- **Voice computer program/Voice dictation program:** Used for typing when internet was not accessible.
- **Internet:** Described as the modern source of information and role models.
## References Cited
- **Einstein:** Quoted regarding the lifelong nature of learning ("Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death").
- **Franklin Roosevelt:** Quoted: *"Men are not prisoners of fate but prisoners of their own mind."*
- **Madlin Albright:** Quoted regarding the act of striving: *"...to strive not because there are any guarantees of success but because the act of striving is in itself the only way to keep faith with life."*
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- Initial personal obstacle: Struggling with the internal and external pressure to define life roles.
- Media representation issue: Displeasure with media portraying disabilities only as "superheroes or as persons in need of mercy."
## Methodology
- Self-assessment: Concluding that her own life reconstruction is her most creative and successful project.
- Advocacy structure: Sharing personal, difficult details as a means to educate and open minds about disabled lives.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- The most important takeaway is demonstrating that resilience and the refusal to surrender one's potential—the ability to control one's mind—is the key to fulfilling dreams.
- Recommendation for the community: To value and participate in the journey of life by continuously striving.
## Implications & Consequences
- Failure to share personal struggles results in stagnation; sharing fosters understanding and enables systemic change.
- The ability to generate and pursue personal goals remains possible even when physical limitations are profound.
## Verbatim Moments
- *"My biggest accomplishment is not giving up."*
- *"I wanted to define life myself, and I wanted to have a life different from that of the women surrounding me."*
- *"In 1997, during the crisis Albania was going through, I was accidentally shot by random ballot"*
- *"Losing the opportunity to grow through education was more overwhelming than losing control of my limbs."*
- *"I can proudly say now that for more than 16 years, I haven't touched a single cooking pan, vacuum cleaner, and anything of the sort."*
- *"Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death."*
- *"In the words of Franklin Roosevelt, 'Men are not prisoners of fate but prisoners of their own mind.'"*
- *"Madlin Albright, she says that I was taught to try to strive not because there are any guarantees of success but because the act of striving is in itself the only way to keep faith with life."*