Unit 1 Leap
Be Proud of Who You Are
Hello, my name is Laura Thompson, and I’m ____ guidance counselor at the local college.
I also have a social media channel where I give advice to young ____ like you.
Today I’d like to talk to you about two things that I hope will ____ you.
Let me ____ by asking you a question.
Have you ever ____ yourself whether you made a good impression on someone you just met?
In fact, ____ people believe they make a worse impression than they actually do.
Researchers performed an experiment where students were paired up for five-minute ____ breaking conversations.
They were then asked to rate how much they liked ____ partners.
Additionally, researchers ____ participants if they thought their partners liked them.
Most participants’ estimations of ____ partners’ responses were pessimistic, which were opposite to the real responses.
____ turns out that participants do not make bad impressions but make better impressions than they think.
The researchers coined a new term, the “liking gap,” for this difference in perception or the mismatch between how we perceive ourselves and what others actually ____ of us.
How is this helpful ____ you?
We often ____ ourselves based on our assumption of how others might judge us.
In other words, our fixed attitudes may ____ us from reaching our true potential.
Don’t worry about the impression you think you make on people; chances are you can be confident that the impression you make is just ____
The second point I want ____ make today is about thinking that your personality is fixed.
Many people believe that their personality falls ____ a specific category and often blame their weaknesses or failures on their personality type.
For example, they may say they can’t do something because ____ aren’t that kind of person.
However, personality categorizations are neither absolute ____ permanent.
Try to remember yourself ____ ten years ago.
Who ____ your favorite singer?
What did you hope ____ become when you grow up?
Do you feel the same ____ now?
What will your ____ be 10 years from now?
I bet ____ don’t know.
Just like ____ likes and future dreams keep changing, so do you.
If you choose to behave differently and make ____ changes, your personality will also change.
People are predictable and consistent ____ time only because they choose to be, so don’t limit yourself to a certain type.
Start crafting ____ person you want to become today.
“Giving Up” Has No Place in My Dictionary!
Hello, everyone! Thank you for your warm ____
It’s good to be back home, but I’m ____ you today not to perform but to talk to you about my life as a musician.
Last year, after 20 years of hard work, I finally signed my first ____ company contract.
____ like to tell you a hopeful story and give some insight into the hard work that I had to put in.
Look ____ this picture of Picasso’s The Old Guitarist behind me.
My ____ was a classical guitarist, and on my 13th birthday, he gave me this picture and a new guitar.
After he passed away, I ____ it up in my room as a reminder of his love for music.
I wasn’t a musical genius, but I was ____ than most.
I was popular at school festivals, and ____ thought I was born to be a musician.
But things were ____ from easy.
In college, I had to compete with classmates who were definitely more capable ____ I was.
I don’t even remember how many contests I went ____ and came up short.
____ kept failing no matter how hard I tried.
It seemed like every ____ made me lose hope more and more.
I wanted ____ give up.
The funny thing was whenever anyone asked me to ____ a song for them, I would be so happy.
Although my dream was to record an album, the reality was ____ probably wouldn’t make it.
Then ____ day, I looked at the picture of The Old Guitarist on my wall.
I suddenly remembered what my grandfather had told me about Picasso: only a tiny fraction of the thousands of artworks he created during his lifetime are recognized by ____ public.
Then I thought of my grandfather and how he loved playing, ____ his art his entire life, even without fame.
I realized the only way to become an old ____ like him was to keep playing.
The happy ending to this story is that after having sent my recordings to countless producers, I finally found one ____ was eager to work with me.
One ____ led to another, and I finally signed a record deal.
Opportunities only come to those who are ____
____ had spent years performing on unknown streets and writing songs no one recognized.
The difficulties I faced were part of my ____
If you ____ something, keep trying.
Someday an opportunity may come knocking at your door, and you ____ to be ready to welcome it.