Every year, the FHS philosophy club hosts FreedomX, an event that mimics the same forum as TEDx — with a number of presentations made by students. This year was their fifth annual event, and on Jan. 2018, 11 students came together to discuss topics ranging from Israeli art, hyperreality, and even death.

The topic of discussion for this event was “definitions” and every single presentation had a varied way of introducing its very own definition. Junior Reza Khoshhal talkedabout his desire to spend 10 minutes on the moon, as opposed to traveling throughout all of Europe. He claimed that this moon-venture was his very own definition of making a choice — a very difficult one at that.

When asked how he came up with this particular “definition” Khoshhal did not shy from the truth.

“It was completely random,” Khoshhal said, “I found it while searching Google for a topic to talk about online.”

At the end of the day, these speeches do not always have to start off with profound thought or feeling, but they eventually do become something more important than one could ever realize.

On the other hand, Senior Alia Athman spoke about something she really did feel passionate about, titled: “Black Lives Matter, Respectability Politics, and a Plea for Radicalism.” She has also carried the legacy of FreedomX, as her sister participated in and started the very first event back in 2014.

While it may not gather the entire school as its audience, FreedomX has definitely grown in recent years and has allowed the students of FHS to express their very own “d4efinitions” through their philosophical discussions. These speeches are made without censorship, because ultimately every single individual had something important to say and as it turns out, people do listen.

A person’s words are what they make them — and our 11 philosophers did just that.