Before I die I want to... | Candy Chang

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

Translator: Rijaniaina Randrianomanana Reviewer: andry ravololonjatovo

Ireo olona manodidina antsika

There are a lot of ways the people around us

can help improve our lives.

dia afaka manampy amin'ny fanatsarana ny fiainatsika.

We don't bump into every neighbor,

Tsy afaka hifanerasera amin'ireo mpifanila-bodirindrina rehetra isika,

so a lot of wisdom never gets passed on,

ka maro noho izany ny anatra tsy voampita,

though we do share the same public spaces.

na dia samy mampiasa ireo toerana faobe ary isika.

So over the past few years, I've tried ways to share more

Nandritra ny taona maro dia nanandrana fomba ahafahana mifandray

with my neighbors in public space,

amin'ireo mpiray tanàna aminà toerana faobe aho,

using simple tools like stickers, stencils and chalk.

amin'ny alalan'ny peta-drindrina sy ny "pochoir" ary ny tsaoka.

Ireo tetikasa ireo dia teraka rehefa avy nanontany tena aho hoe, toy ny hoe

And these projects came from questions I had, like:

firy amin'ireo mpiray tanàna amiko no mandoa hofan-trano?

How much are my neighbors paying for their apartments?

(Laughter)

(Hehy) Ahoana no ahafahantsika mampindrana na mindrana zavatra

How can we lend and borrow more things,

without knocking on each other's doors at a bad time?

ka tsy mandondona am-baravaran'ny hafa amin'ny fotoana tsy mety?

How can we share more memories of our abandoned buildings,

Ahoana no fomba hifampizarantsika ireo tsiahin'

ireo trano tsy misy mipetraka intsony,

and gain a better understanding of our landscape?

sy mba hanomezana endrika tsara kokoa ny tanàna?

How can we share more of our hopes for our vacant storefronts,

Ary ahoana koa no hifampizarantsika fanantenana

ho an'ireo trano fampirantiana goana, ka ahazoan'ny besinimaro

so our communities can reflect our needs and dreams today?

mitaratra ny filantsika sy ny nofintsika ankehitriny?

Monina ao Nouvelles-Orléans aho izao,

Now, I live in New Orleans,

and I am in love with New Orleans.

ary tiako Nouvelles-Orléans.

My soul is always soothed by the giant live oak trees,

Milamina ery ny fanahiko mahita ireo hazo goavambe toy ny "chêne",

mampialoka ireo mpifankatia, ireo mamolava ary ireo mpanonofinofy

shading lovers, drunks and dreamers for hundreds of years,

efa nandritra ny zato taona izay, sady matoky kokoa ny tanàn-dehibe

and I trust a city that always makes way for music.

manome lanja ny mozika aho. (Hehy)

I feel like every time someone sneezes,

Mieritreritra aho fa isaky ny misy olona mihevina,

New Orleans has a parade.

dia misy fety ao Nouvelle-Orléans. (Hehy)

(Laughter)

The city has some of the most beautiful architecture in the world,

Io tanàn-dehibe io no manana maritrano tsara indrindra eto an-tany,

nefa izy koa no manana trano

but it also has one of the highest amounts of abandoned properties in America.

haolo betsaka indrindra eto Amerika.

Monina eo akaikin'io trano io aho, dia nieritreritra aho hoe ahoana no ataoko

I live near this house,

and I thought about how I could make it a nicer space for my neighborhood,

hanatsarana io toerana io mba hanome endrika ny tanàna,

ary koa nieritreritra zavatra hafa aho

and I also thought about something that changed my life forever.

izay nanova ny fiainako mandrakizay.

In 2009, I lost someone I loved very much.

Tamin'ny 2009, nodimandry izay olona akaiky ahy izay.

Her name was Joan, and she was a mother to me.

Joan no anarany, toy ny reniko no fandraisako azy,

And her death was sudden and unexpected.

ary tampoka tamiko sy tsy nampoiziko ny nahafatesany.

And I thought about death a lot.

Dia lasa saina momban'ny fahafatesana aho,

And ... this made me feel deep gratitude for the time I've had.

sy

ny hoe tokony hahay hisaotra noho ireo andro rehetra niainako aho,

And ... brought clarity to the things that are meaningful to my life now.

ary

nampisokatra ny saiko izany momba ny zavatra manan-danja

rehetra amin'ny fiainako manomboka izao.

But I struggle to maintain this perspective in my daily life.

Ka miady ho an'io tanjona io aho amin'ny fiainako andavanandro.

I feel like it's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day,

Hitako fa mora voafangoky ny fiainana isika,

and forget what really matters to you.

ka manadino ny tena manan-danja marina.

So with help from old and new friends,

Noho izany,noho ny fanampian'ireo namana tranainy sy vaovao

I turned the side of this abandoned house into a giant chalkboard,

dia novaiko ny ilan'ilay trano io haolo ho lasa

solaitra be ary tamin'ny "pochoir" no nandokoana

and stenciled it with a fill-in-the-blank sentence:

ireo fehezanteny manao hoe :

"Before I die, I want to ..."

« Alohan'ny hahafatesako, te-... »

So anyone walking by can pick up a piece of chalk,

Ireo olona rehetra mandalo eo dia afaka mandray tsaoka,

reflect on their life,

mieritreritra ny fiainany ary manoratra ireo hetahetany manokana

and share their personal aspirations in public space.

eo amin'io toerana io.

I didn't know what to expect from this experiment,

Mbola tsy fantatro izay ho fivoaran'ity andrana ity,

but by the next day, the wall was entirely filled out,

kanefa ny ampitso ihany dia feno tanteraka ilay rindrina,

ary nitohy hatrany ny famenoana azy teo.

and it kept growing.

Hampiseho hafatra vitsivitsy

And I'd like to share a few things that people wrote on this wall.

nosoratan'ny olona teo amin'io rindrina io aho.

"Before I die, I want to be tried for piracy."

« Alohan'ny hahafatesaka, te-hotsaraina amin'ny asa jiolahi-tsambo aho. » (Hehy)

(Laughter)

« Alohan'ny hahafatesako, te-hanitsaka ny tsipiky ny daty iraisampirenena aho.»

"Before I die, I want to straddle the International Dateline."

"Before I die, I want to sing for millions."

« Alohan'ny hahafatesako, hihira manoloana olona an-tapitrisany aho. »

« Alohan'ny hahafatesako, tsy maintsy mamboly hazo aho. »

"Before I die, I want to plant a tree."

"Before I die, I want to live off the grid."

« Alohan'ny hahafatesako, te-hiaina tsy misy fifandraisana aho. »

"Before I die, I want to hold her one more time."

« Alohan'ny hahafatesako, te-hamihina azy indray mandeha farany aho. »

« Alohan'ny hahafatesako, tsy maintsy hanavotra olona aho. »

"Before I die, I want to be someone's cavalry."

"Before I die, I want to be completely myself."

« Alohan'ny hahafatesako, te-hijanona amin'ny maha-izaho ahy hatrany aho. »

Io toerana tsy misy mpiraharaha io zao lasa mampivelatra,

So this neglected space became a constructive one,

and people's hopes and dreams made me laugh out loud, tear up,

ireo fanantenana sy nofinofin'ny olona

dia nisy nampihomehy ahy, nisy nampitomany ahy,

ary koa nanambitamby ahy tamin'ireo fotoan-tsarotra.

and they consoled me during my own tough times.

It's about knowing you're not alone;

Ny zava-dehibe dia ny fahalalana fa tsy irery isika.

it's about understanding our neighbors in new and enlightening ways;

Ahafahana mifankafantatra tamin'ireo mpifanila-bodirindrina io

tamin'ny fomba vaovao sy mahafinaritra.

it's about making space for reflection and contemplation,

Fanomezana toerana ny fieritreretana sy fandinihana lalina izao,

and remembering what really matters most to us as we grow and change.

sy fitadidiana ireo tena manan-danja

rehefa mitombo sy miova isika.

Tamin'ny herintaona no nataoko io tetikasa io ary naharay

I made this last year,

and started receiving hundreds of messages from passionate people

hafatra an-jatony tamin'ireo olona liana

who wanted to make a wall with their community.

te-hanangana rindrina toa io any amin'ny fokontaniny aho,

So, my civic center colleagues and I made a tool kit,

noho izany izaho sy ireo mpiara-miasa amiko dia nanamboatra "kit" ary

and now walls have been made in countries around the world,

ankehitriny firenena maro no efa ahitana rindrina toa io

including Kazakhstan,

toy ny any Afrika Atsimo, Kazakhstan,

South Africa,

Australia,

any Aostralia,

Argentina, and beyond.

any Argentine sy ny maro hafa.

Together, we've shown how powerful our public spaces can be

Isika miaraka dia afaka mampiseho fa ny toerana andalambe

if we're given the opportunity to have a voice,

dia fitaovana lehibe ahafahana maneho hevitra

and share more with one another.

sy mifampizara izany amin'ny hafa.

Two of the most valuable things we have

Ireo zavatra roa sarobidy ananantsika dia ny fotoana

are time, and our relationships with other people.

sy ny fifandraisana amin'ny hafa.

In our age of increasing distractions,

Vanimpotoana mahabetsaka ny rendrarendra izao,

zava-dehibe anefa ny fitazonana

it's more important than ever to find ways to maintain perspective,

tanjona sy fitadidiana hatrany fa fohy ary malemy ny fiainana.

and remember that life is brief and tender.

Death is something that we're often discouraged to talk about,

Matahotra hiresaka momban'ny fahafatesana isika,

na tsy te-hieritreritra izany mihitsy aza, kanefa

or even think about,

but I've realized that preparing for death

mahatsapa aho fa ny fiomanana amin'ny fahafatesana

is one of the most empowering things you can do.

dia isan'ny fandraisana andraikitra lehibe afaka ataontsika.

Thinking about death clarifies your life.

Ny fieritreretana ny fahafatesana vao mainka manazava ny fiainana.

Our shared spaces can better reflect what matters to us,

Ireo toerana hifandraisantsika dia ahafahana mitaratra ny zava-dehibe

as individuals and as a community,

amin'ny maha-singan'olona sy amin'ny fiaraha-monina koa.

Misy fitaovana maro ahafahana mizara fanantenana, ahiahy ary tantara,

and with more ways to share our hopes, fears and stories,

afaka manampy antsika ireo olona manodidina antsika

the people around us can not only help us make better places,

amin'ny fanavaozana ireo toerana tsizarizary ahafahana manatsara ny fiainana.

they can help us lead better lives.

Thank you.

Misaotra indrindra. (Tehaka)

(Applause)

(Tehaka)

Thank you.

Misaotra. (Tehaka)

(Applause)

(Tehaka)