Kitsilano Secondary Grade 12 student Tessa Mouzourakis says speaking in front of 600 people at TEDxKids in Burnaby was both thrilling and nerve wracking.

Mouzourakis was on stage for the special event on November 16. She was one of 12 speakers from across British Columbia selected to speak at the event.

Mouzourakis is no stranger to performance. Over the past few years she has performed at festivals and shows across the lower mainland and has also traveled and performed in Washington State and London, England. However, in preparation of TEDxKids, she says she definitely had butterflies in her stomach.

"Right before I started, I was really nervous. I was shaking. When they presented me, I then just relaxed," she says. "I walked out onto the TED presenter's circle, looked out to everyone, started my first line and it was so cool." 

To deal with the pressure, she practiced-a lot. Mouzourakis spent her entire Saturday (along with plenty of weeks prior to the big day) rehearsing her 16 minute talk and guitar playing performance.

Her talk "The Pursuit of Passion" explored her experience in high school and how her passion for music helped overcome the challenges of being bullied, and in fact helped her flourish as an individual. During each short story, Mouzourakis followed with a set of music on her guitar.

You can check out Mouzourakis on the TEDxKids website by clicking here.