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Your Name

Instructor Name

SPC 1017

Due Date

Figuring It Out

I. Introduction

a. Attention getter There are many days where I look at my life and wonder how I got here.

b. Purpose My perception of myself and my abilities have changed so much over time.

c. Preview statement Today I’ll share why the words sensitive, intelligent, dedicated, goofy, empathetic and evolving describe my self-concept.

II. Body

a. Main Point 1 First I’ll share the words that my family chose to describe my presenting self. I spoke with my parents and my two younger brothers for this part—people that have known me my whole life.

i. When I asked my parents how they would describe me, the first words they shared were all very similar: smart, intelligent and intellectual. I understand why because as a child and throughout my schooling as an adult, I was a good student. I graduated with a 4.0 when I earned my bachelor’s and won many academic awards throughout school. I was even able to win scholarships and a teaching assistantship that helped me pay for my college education. Intelligence is defined as the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. I try to work on that as much as I can.

ii. My dad jokingly said that I was itchy and later said that I was sensitive, both physically and emotionally. I had a lot of allergies and skin issues growing up which made basic things really difficult sometimes. I also have asthma and eczema, hence the itchiness. As far as my emotions, sometimes I think I feel too much but I’m grateful for being connected to myself in that way.

iii. Next, I asked my younger brother and he gave me the word dedicated, which was really surprising. I thought he might say something like bossy or controlling. But he said I was dedicated because he’s never seen me fail at anything. Even though my brother sees me this way, I have felt like I’ve failed at many things throughout my life. I struggled to stand up for myself and feel confident for a really long time but to hear him say that meant a lot to me and it showed me that I have accomplished a lot, even though sometimes it may not feel like it.

b. Main Point 2 The next set of words, I chose for myself.

i. I chose the word empathetic and later my youngest brother chose the same world as well. It’s defined as showing the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. I spoke earlier about being sensitive and this is part of that. But I believe that my empathy is what has helped me to improve as a communicator. I try my best to understand the people in my life from their perspective. Sometimes that means that I’m feeling feelings that aren’t really mine and I have to make sure to separate the two.

ii. Sub-point 2 I would also describe myself as goofy. I have a nephew who is almost two and I love doing silly things to make him laugh. A lot of people get more serious as they get older but a part of me wants to hold on to my inner child forever so that I can always find laughter and joy in the smallest things.

iii. Lastly I would describe myself as evolving. Evolution is defined as the gradual development of something, especially from a simple to a more complex form. As I mentioned at the beginning of the speech, my perception of myself has changed so much over time and I know it will continue to. I relish the growth and the change.

III. Conclusion

a. Overall I am sensitive, intelligent, dedicated, goofy, empathetic and evolving.

b. You’ll continue to get to know more about me over the next several weeks and I hope that we all learn something from each other that can help us further define our self-concept and boost our self-esteem.