This spoken word poem was written and performed by 8th grader Merritt Kanzer, who also performed on the TEDx stage when she was only 9 years old. In it, she describes the changes that occurred between then and now. Merritt Kanzer, an eighth grader, has been at Saint Andrew's School since Pre-K. She has been passionate about singing, acting, and public speaking from a young age. At nine years old, Merritt participated in TEDx at Saint Andrew's to perform her original song, "A Rose by the Water." In her poem, "Because We Grew Up," Merritt describes what she feels has changed since her last TEDx experience and what it was like when we "used to dream." This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx