Yara Shahidi can add another title to her resume: actress, producer, activist, and TED Talk speaker. Adding yet another title to her resume-actress, producer, activist, and TED speaker-Grown-ish star Yara Shahidi's talk titled "Let Curiosity Lead," months after she presented it in person in April 2023, was recently posted on TED's website and uploaded to YouTube a few months after her in-person presentation in April 2023. In the fully recorded speech, you can hear Shahidi's advice to embrace all of her various interests, rather than viewing her curiosity as a "distraction."

In the 11-minute speech, the multi-hyphenate discusses her journey to embrace a variety of subjects and career paths, rather than listening to advice to pursue only one passion. She refers to a time in August 2018 when she was beginning her freshman year at Harvard University at the same time "Grown-ish" was entering its second season, explaining that she was told by both academic advisors and entertainment professionals that there was "no symbiotic relationship between the two worlds."

"I was looking for an 'and,' but I kept being offered 'either-or.' And those five words - 'are you sure that's what you want?' - almost stopped me," she continued.

She continued, advocating instead to harness the power of creativity, cherish the sense of wonder of childhood, and keep an open mind for new opportunities.

"How many times have we asked each other, 'What are you doing? ' question. Because what we do is only a small part of who we are. Because what we do is only a small part of who we are. And this culture of flaunting expertise means that our curiosity is often mistaken for distraction. I would love to think about what we are missing out on by not actively prioritizing curiosity," she says.

In a celebratory Instagram post, actress Sitting In Bars With Cake revealed her lifelong goal of speaking at TED, writing, "15 year old YARA'S bucket list dream ACCOMPLISHED."

"I've been invited to @TED in Vancouver in April 2023...TED has invited me!" ! I sit in awe of the request to speak my thoughts at this iconic conference, but also in gratitude for the opportunity to share the stage with people who have changed my trajectory and introduced me to new ways of thinking. (Yes, I was a 10-year-old listener, a 15-year-old who memorized TED talks for speech and debate competitions and listened to the TED Radio Hour when I needed inspiration.) What a "FULL CIRCLE" moment to share my passion for the transformative power of curiosity.

"Vancouver is amazing and I couldn't be happier to share this moment with you all. Thank you for always supporting my words and my work, no matter how big or small the stage. ..... .xo yara," she writes.