In this live talk, teenager Vedashree Venkat, a multi‑talented student‑athlete and co‑founder of FutureX Lab, addresses parents and families about the so‑called “generation gap.” She argues that the gap is a myth rooted in misunderstanding rather than an inevitable separation, and proposes that parenting should shift from tight control to standing close as a supportive friend. Drawing on her personal journey—state‑level gymnastics, national pistol shooting, TEDx speaking, and her involvement with the NEXT community since April 2025—she illustrates how trust, open communication, and shared growth can bridge perceived divides. The talk blends personal anecdotes, a call to re‑examine parental attitudes, and a vision for empowering teenagers through technology and mentorship.
Chapters
Up next, we have an exceptional young leader who truly defines ambition and balance. Since joining NEXT in April 2025, she's a TEDx speaker and a former school pupil leader. She's also a state-level gymnastics bronze medalist and balancing sports, academics, and entrepreneurship with remarkable focus. Now please help me welcome with the loudest standing ovation, Vedha Srivinodh! Thank you.
Have you ever felt distant or disconnected with the person that you love the most, especially your parent or your child? Today, I'm going to talk about something that exists in almost every family, but is rarely spoken about, honestly. Growing up was never meant to be a separation. It was always meant to be a shift from being guided to being understood. I felt like I was kind of stuck, and then something unexpected happened. So when I joined NEXT, my parents told me, just keep attending and you'll see a difference in whatever you do. What if parenting was not about holding on tighter, but rather about standing close to your teenager as a best friend?
Up next, we have an exceptional young leader who truly defines ambition and balance. Since joining NEXT in April 2025, she has become a national-level pistol shooter and has qualified for Nationals. She has also won a silver medal at the state level and is now the co-founder of FutureX Lab. She has also been recognized as one of the top 3 young achievers from Chennai. She's a TEDx speaker and a former school pupil leader. She has addressed an audience of over 800 at Guru Nanak College. She's also a state-level gymnastics bronze medalist, and balancing sports, academics, and entrepreneurship with remarkable focus. Her vision? It's to build an AI-driven startup to impact over 1 lakh teenagers and represent India at the Olympics. Now please help me welcome with the loudest standing ovation Vedashree Venkat! Come on, guys!
Let me first search. Where are all the parents? Are they here? Yes! Okay, okay. Before I start my speech, I would like to ask a quick question. Have you ever felt distant or disconnected with the person that you love the most, especially your parent or your child? Please raise your hands if you feel so. Thank you. Well, what if I tell you that this distance was never actually distance at all? What if it was just 2 people standing on the opposite sides of the same door, waiting for the other one to open it first? Parents might feel like their children are slipping away, whereas children might feel like they're not being heard. And we've given this feeling a name. Do you all know what that is? No. No? It's called a generation gap. But what if I tell you that it was never actually a gap at all? What if we just forgot how to meet each other halfway through? Well, today, I know that's a lot of what-ifs over there, so I'm going to stop right now. Today, I'm going to talk about something that exists in almost every family but is rarely spoken about honestly: the idea that as children grow up, they grow apart from their parents, and why I believe that this idea is not only untrue but also very harmful. Because once we start to believe something, our actions start to shape according to it. And parents will start to hold on tighter, whereas children will start to pull away faster. And what once felt natural will start to feel forced. Today, here, as I stand as a teenager still trying to figure things out, we are not growing apart. We do not want distance. All we need is— we are just trying to grow into ourselves. And we do not need distance for that. Because growing up was never meant to be a separation. It was always meant to be a shift from being guided to being understood. And let me share something with you. Well, once upon a time, during my 5th grade, I was really interested in joining gymnastics. And because it sounds cool, right? And my parents enrolled me into a gymnastics club in my school. Soon after, I felt like maybe gymnastics wasn't my sport because I felt like I was already left behind. All my peers were gymnasts from the age of 5 or so. I remember sitting with that pressure quietly, not always saying it out loud, because whenever I tried to put my thoughts into words, the conversations would quickly move from motivation— it will quickly move to motivation. And I'll be very honest here, sometimes I feel like, can you please stop? This motivation isn't helping me right now. Does anyone relate to that? Teens? Yes. Thank you. Well, then my state-level competition came. I failed, failed very badly. I came back feeling very low, and even though my parents tried to cheer me up, I felt like I was kind of stuck. And then something unexpected happened. My parents did not ask me, did not question me why my performance was bad, or they did not compare me, but rather they went home, researched about the best gymnastics club in my city, And quietly enrolled me there. And notice, that club had already produced so many state-level and national-level champions. So I had a different kind of challenge there. It was not just about gymnastics. And because whenever I went into that club, I felt like, oh, I do not belong here. Everyone was super good. They were super flexible, super light. And they were so thin. And I, back then, I was a little plumpier. So I felt like I was in a room full of people who were able to bend like rubber bands. And then I stayed, and I practiced, and I kept chanting every mantra that my mom had taught me to do so. And I visualized every night. And then my state-level competition came. Wow! When I walked into that room, I felt like, oh my God, this is too much for me because I saw people who were far more skilled than me, and the nervousness was killing me. But I kept chanting, "Ukram viram mahavishnum, chalantam sarvatomukam, nishimham bishanam batram, mrityormrityam namamyeham." Well, this mantra really helped me, and guess what? I won in the state-level gymnastics competition! Thank you! And then, a few years later, a completely different sport: pistol shooting. And then, here my scores were really low for a very long time. Whenever I went to go for classes, and whenever my scores were really low, there were days that I cried. And my parents supported me during my worst. They supported me the most when I was at my worst. And this kind of support was really needed for me. And that was the time when I was introduced to Next, April 2025. So when I joined Next, I was thinking, how am I even going to balance everything? I have sports, I have academics, and I study in the IB board, so it's a little difficult for me. So when I joined Next, my parents told me, just keep attending and you'll see a difference in whatever you do. And then I started enjoying each and every session. I really loved the session where Vani ma'am was teaching us about the power of your subconscious mind, because it helped me shift the way that I function and the way that I thought. And I could actually see an improvement in my scores, and not just in my matches, but also my competitions and my academics. Just a second, I need a breath. I need to take a breath. All right. Thank you. I may not be the best speaker, but here I am. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And then something changed. I realized something so important, that confusion is not failure. It is the beginning of clarity. When we are trusted, we start to trust ourselves, and that self-trust is the answer to the questions that we are trying to understand. So parents, let me share something with you. You know, the dragonfly, it spends most of its life underwater growing, hidden, and when it finally emerges, it does not immediately fly. It takes its time, and it's in a state in between what it was and what it is becoming. And in that space is where growth really happens. And your child is in that space right now, not yet an adult fully, but not a child anymore. And parenting in that moment is not about controlling the process, but rather about being there, understanding them, and supporting them without interrupting the process. And thank you. So, what if we change the way that we saw or this relationship? What if parenting was not about holding on tighter, but rather about standing close to your teenager as a best friend? What if we stopped asking how to fix each other and started asking how to understand each other? What if growing up was never about growing away, but rather growing together, but in a different way? And I realized something very important. NEXT taught me— it did not teach me how to improve my scores academically or in my matches, but rather, it taught me how to believe in myself even during my lowest phases. And in NEXT, growth is not about being— growth is not one-sided. We learn together as a family. So, I had so many experiences where I learnt together from my parents and with my parents. And I'm sure many parents over here have learnt so much from the other Nexters. Yes! Thank you. And— oh, I think I forgot to mention, I won the state-level silver medal in the pistol shooting competition. And on that day— thank you. On that day, I remember messaging Sid sir and Vani ma'am and seeking for their blessings. And I had the support from my parents, from the entire NEXT community, and I walked in there confident. But even though I was nervous, because the previous match was completely one of my worst matches ever, and when I walked in there, I did not let that define my score. And I finished the entire match. I came back with my personal best score. And I won the state-level silver medal. Thank you. So maybe the distance that we feel was never actually distance. Maybe it was just 2 people standing on the opposite sides of the same door, waiting for the other one to open it first. So maybe we don't have to fix each other or change each other. We just need to grow together differently. So, thank you, Siddharth. Thank you, Vani ma'am. Thank you, Apoorva ma'am. And thank you everyone in the Next community for creating a space where growth feels safe, where we are allowed to grow into ourselves and we are allowed to grow in our own manner. And as a teenager, this kind of support is— this kind of space is not just supporting me, but it shapes me. Thank you.
