Unit 1 Leap
Be Proud of Who You Are
Hello, my name is Laura Thompson, and I’m a ____ counselor at the local college.
I also have a social media channel where ____ give advice to young students like you.
Today I’d like to talk to you about two things ____ I hope will inspire you.
Let me start ____ asking you a question.
Have you ever asked yourself whether you made a good impression on someone you ____ met?
In fact, most people believe ____ make a worse impression than they actually do.
Researchers ____ an experiment where students were paired up for five-minute ice breaking conversations.
They were then asked to rate how ____ they liked their partners.
____ researchers asked participants if they thought their partners liked them.
Most participants’ estimations of their partners’ responses were pessimistic, which were opposite to the real ____
It turns out that participants do not make bad impressions but make ____ 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 ____ actually think of us.
____ is this helpful for you?
We often underestimate ourselves based on our ____ of how others might judge us.
In other words, our fixed attitudes may prevent us from reaching our true ____
Don’t worry about ____ impression you think you make on people; chances are you can be confident that the impression you make is just fine.
The second point I want to make today is about thinking ____ your personality is fixed.
Many people believe that their personality falls into a specific category and often blame their weaknesses or failures on their personality ____
For example, they may say they can’t do something because they ____ that kind of person.
However, personality categorizations are neither absolute nor ____
Try to remember ____ from ten years ago.
Who was your ____ singer?
What did you hope ____ become when you grow up?
Do you ____ the same way now?
What will your answers be ____ years from now?
I bet you don’t ____
Just like your likes and future dreams keep ____ so do you.
If you choose to behave differently and make needed changes, your personality will ____ change.
People are predictable and consistent over time ____ because they choose to be, so don’t limit yourself to a certain type.
Start ____ the person you want to become today.
“Giving Up” Has No Place in My Dictionary!
____ everyone! Thank you for your warm welcome.
It’s good to be back home, but I’m visiting ____ today not to perform but to talk to you about my life as a musician.
Last year, after 20 ____ of hard work, I finally signed my first record company contract.
I’d like to tell you a hopeful story and give some insight into the ____ work that I had to put in.
Look at this picture of Picasso’s The Old Guitarist ____ me.
My grandfather was a classical guitarist, and on my 13th ____ he gave me this picture and a new guitar.
After he passed away, I hung it up in my room as a ____ of his love for music.
I wasn’t a musical genius, but I was better than ____
____ was popular at school festivals, and I thought I was born to be a musician.
But ____ were far from easy.
____ college, I had to compete with classmates who were definitely more capable than I was.
I don’t even ____ how many contests I went to and came up short.
I kept failing no matter ____ hard I tried.
It seemed like every disappointment made me lose ____ more and more.
I wanted to ____ up.
The funny thing was whenever anyone asked me to play a song for them, I would ____ so happy.
Although my ____ was to record an album, the reality was I probably wouldn’t make it.
Then one day, I looked at the picture of The Old ____ 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 ____ the public.
Then I thought of my grandfather and how he loved playing, practicing his art his entire life, even ____ fame.
I realized the only way ____ become an old guitarist 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 who was eager to work with ____
One thing ____ to another, and I finally signed a record deal.
Opportunities only ____ to those who are prepared.
I had spent years performing on unknown ____ and writing songs no one recognized.
The ____ I faced were part of my journey.
If you love something, keep ____
Someday an opportunity may come knocking at ____ door, and you have to be ready to welcome it.