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PeopleTranscript
00:00It might be obvious that someone is missing today from this stage besides Stephen Horowitz.
00:07Someone who's pretty hard to miss.
00:09Jelly Roll.
00:11We found out Thursday night he had a family emergency and couldn't make it here.
00:15He was so excited to be here and they sent me their speech about two hours ago so I'm
00:22just going to read it and let him have his moment.
00:24So pretend for a minute that I have face tattoos and a Tennessee accent.
00:29I truly don't believe the kind of year I've had.
00:32I want to thank Variety for this incredible honor.
00:34I'm humbled to be honored alongside so many people in the room today that I respect and
00:39am genuine fans of.
00:40He singled out Quavo and Ray.
00:43Changemaker of the year.
00:44Wow, this is truly incredible.
00:46I don't think it will shock anyone here for me to say that I believe people can change.
00:51I am a living example of it.
00:53I can pinpoint specific moments in my life that changed the core of who I was and shifted
00:58the path I was on.
01:00Starting with my own mother and seeing the healing impact music could have by watching
01:04how it impacted her mental health.
01:06And again with the birth of my daughter 16 years ago.
01:10Integral moments of change that I can point to to identify a shift in my own story.
01:15I'm not sure when this was exactly but there was a moment when I just stopped writing my
01:19story realizing that now I have a platform to not only share how I feel but to speak
01:25for those in other situations that aren't able to speak for themselves.
01:30I hope if being named a changemaker means anything, it's that.
01:34The stories that people have been gracious enough to share with me about what they've
01:38been through or are going through, I literally see and hear something every day that inspires
01:43me.
01:44My father told me growing up that change starts in your heart and then spreads out to your
01:48family, then the block, the neighborhood, the community, then our city and our state
01:52and beyond.
01:53And I believe that.
01:54But I think it's also important to acknowledge that in order to make real changes in your
01:59own life, it's important to note sometimes it's by taking it one day at a time.
02:04Sometimes one minute or even a second.
02:06Or even that it's okay to acknowledge that it's okay not to be okay sometimes.
02:10I often just am trying to encourage people to make the right next decision.
02:16The encouragement to believe for themselves in the reality that things can change if you're
02:21willing to change it.
02:22Thank you again for all that.
02:24Thank you, Jelly in Amstutz.
02:26And thank you, everybody.