Unit 1 Leap
Be Proud of Who You Are
____, my name is Laura Thompson, and I’m a guidance counselor at the local college.
I also have a social media channel where I give advice to ____ students like you.
Today I’d like to talk to ____ about two things that I hope will inspire you.
Let me ____ by asking you a question.
Have you ever asked yourself whether you made a ____ impression on someone you just met?
In fact, most people believe they ____ a worse impression than they actually do.
Researchers performed an experiment where students were paired up for ____ ice breaking conversations.
They were then asked to rate ____ much they liked their partners.
Additionally, researchers ____ participants if they thought their partners liked them.
Most participants’ estimations of their ____’ responses were pessimistic, which were opposite to the real responses.
It turns ____ that participants do not make bad impressions but make better impressions than they think.
The researchers ____ a new term, the “liking gap,” for this difference in perception or the mismatch between how we perceive ourselves and what others actually think of us.
____ is this helpful for you?
We often underestimate ourselves ____ on our assumption of how others might judge us.
In other ____, our fixed attitudes may prevent us from reaching our true potential.
Don’t worry about the impression you think you make on people; chances are you can be ____ that the impression you make is just fine.
The second point I want to make today is about thinking that your ____ is fixed.
Many people believe that their personality falls into a specific category and often ____ their weaknesses or failures on their personality type.
For example, they may say they can’t do something ____ they aren’t that kind of person.
However, personality categorizations are neither ____ nor permanent.
Try to remember ____ from ten years ago.
Who was your ____ singer?
____ did you hope to become when you grow up?
Do ____ feel the same way now?
What will your answers be 10 years ____ now?
I ____ you don’t know.
____ like your likes and future dreams keep changing, so do you.
If you choose to behave differently and make needed changes, your ____ 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 the person ____ 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 ____, but I’m visiting you 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 ____ to tell you a hopeful story and give some insight into the hard 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.
____ he passed away, I hung it up in my room as a reminder of his love for music.
I wasn’t a musical ____, but I was better than most.
I was popular at ____ festivals, and I thought I was born to be a musician.
But things were far ____ easy.
In ____, I had to compete with classmates who were definitely more capable than I was.
I don’t ____ remember how many contests I went to and came up short.
I ____ failing no matter how hard I tried.
It seemed ____ every disappointment made me lose hope more and more.
I wanted to ____ up.
The ____ thing was whenever anyone asked me to play a song for them, I would be so happy.
Although my dream was to record an album, the reality was I probably ____ make it.
____ one day, I looked at the picture of The Old Guitarist on my wall.
I suddenly remembered what my grandfather had told me ____ Picasso: only a tiny fraction of the thousands of artworks he created during his lifetime are recognized by the public.
Then I thought of my grandfather and how he ____ playing, practicing his art his entire life, even without fame.
I realized the only way to become an old guitarist ____ him was to keep playing.
The happy ending to this story is that after having sent my ____ to countless producers, I finally found one who was eager to work with me.
One thing led to another, and I ____ signed a record deal.
Opportunities only come to ____ who are prepared.
I had ____ years performing on unknown streets and writing songs no one recognized.
The difficulties I faced were ____ of my journey.
If you love something, ____ trying.
____ an opportunity may come knocking at your door, and you have to be ready to welcome it.