When it comes to pursuing our visions, it is easy to feel paralyzed by uncertainty; how can we find the courage to act, even when we can’t see? Ariel Dempsey shares a story she has kept secret from many: her story of receiving a terminal diagnosis and recovering from traumatic brain injury. As a medical student at Michigan State and a PhD student in science and religion at Oxford, she draws on both medicine and spirituality to reflect on living with uncertainty. She embodies her message in a beautiful and inspiring performance danced in aerial silks. 

Ariel Dempsey is a fourth year medical student about to graduate from Michigan State College of Human Medicine with her MD and to complete her PhD in science and religion at the University of Oxford. She aspires to become a palliative care physician working at the interface of medicine and theology. Beside her studies, Ariel loves aerial dance and circus arts. She is part of a troupe in Grand Rapids called Bangarang Circus and has traveled the coast of California street-performing to raise money for the charity WorldVision and its Fundraise for Health cause.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Ariel Dempsey: Live like you're dying? Acting in uncertainty | Ariel Dempsey | TEDxMSU

Live like you're dying? Acting in uncertainty | Ariel Dempsey | TEDxMSU

4th Year Medical Student + Aerial Silks Performer

Embracing life's fragility, Ariel finds strength in uncertainty, turning aerial dance into a symbol of resilience and joy.

Life's uncertainty, as Ariel shows, doesn't preclude action. We can live fully, acting on what's clearly at hand despite the unknown.

Embracing uncertainty in life, a medical student chooses to act courageously despite a dire diagnosis, finding strength in spirituality.