The mysterious path to yourself

Problem: Everyone struggles with the questions "Who am I?" or "How am I supposed to be?" The journey of self-discovery is enduring and challenging.

Basic concept: personal identity

- Styles

- Preference

- Beliefs

- Activities

- Characteristics

("Psychology: How to build personal identity", For Dummies)

Tools to untangle identity: self-reflection, or a more fancy way to put it, introspection

Questions for audience: Have you ever wondered why people make you fill out survey about a program, what have you learned, how has the program affected you and such? If you are a high school senior like me, have you ever asked why colleges want you to show your strengths and thoughts about certain events? If you are looking for a job, do you get questions about your abilities and thoughts frequently and then ruminating over why they ask such questions?

It is to test your ability to reflect on your own actions, your talents, your past and present, your relationship, your strengths and weaknesses. In short, all of those above trigger self reflection in you in order to see how much you know yourself and then how well you can express that awareness.

A mechanism of self-reflection: the pyramid of self-reflection

(Diagram based on "Scaling the pyramid of self reflection: a model and an assignment for the preparation of inclusive leaders" by Angela Webster-Smith)

The base is always the heart because it's represents most closely and inclusively your identity. It also catalyze so or holds an account for other factors. Thus, I recommend going from top to bottom of the pyramid.

1. Character

- What adjectives would you use to describe yourself?

- What adjectives would your family or friends use to describe you?

2. Habits

- What do you often do and what do they say about you?

3. Actions

- What would you do in certain situation and why? What do they show about you?

Example of how actions are used to classify people: The American Voter study used the reason behind voters' vote to evaluate their characters (Edwards, Wattenberg and Lineberry, 204-205).

4. Words

- How would you characterize your style of writing/ speaking? (Sarcastic, light-hearted, serious, etc.)

5. Attitude

- What is your attitude towards life?

6. Emotion

- How do you feel in certain situations? Why do you feel that way? What does it say about you?

7. Thought

- What do you think? Why? What does your thought/ decision reflect?

8. Heart

The heart is the big picture. All other points we have touched so far build a ladder to the locked door of heart. To see your heart, yourself inside, you have to answer this question.

- What do you believe in? (In life, in various issues) What does those beliefs say about you?

Conclusion: If you have gone through this assessment and still feel lost, it is OK. Your identity would also be built through time and experience, so as you go on, do work and grow, you will be able to find yourself more easily. Just remember to have a frequent meeting with yourself.

References:

 Cash, Adam. "Psychology: How to Build Your Personal Identity." For Dummies. Dummies.biz, n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.

 Edwards, George C., Martin P. Wattenberg, and Robert L. Lineberry. "Public Opinion." Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy. New York: Longman, 2009. 204-05. Print.

Webster-Smith, Angela. "Scaling the Pyramid of Self Reflection: A Model and an Assignment for the Preparation of Inclusive Leaders." International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation 6.1 (2011): n. pag. ERIC. Web. 15 Nov. 2014. 

TED Talk Critique

http://youtu.be/4w1vbAt0k6A

Bibliography

1. Book

Harrison, Sabrina Ward. Spilling Open: The Art of Becoming Yourself. New York: Villard, 2000. Print.

 

2. Credible article

Cully, Kendig Brubaker, C. G. Jung, and Küsnacht-Zürich. "A Letter from C.G Jung." Journal of Religion and Health 7.3 (1968): 275-76. JSTOR. Springer. Web. 08 Nov. 2014.

 

3. Article written for popular audience

Tartakovsky, Margarita. "Questions to Spark Self-Discovery." Psych Central.com. Psych Central, 28 Apr. 2014. Web. 08 Nov. 2014.

 

4. Credible website

"I Have A Plan Iowa ™." - Learn About Yourself. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2014. <https://secure.ihaveaplaniowa.gov/Career_Planning/Learn_About_Yourself/_default.aspx>.

Some ideas for TED Talk?

1. Is sports good or bad?

2. The value of hard work

3. Should we have high-expectation of ourselves?

4. What makes you you?

An Unique TED Talk

Below is the link to the TED Talk "Are you human" by Ze Frank
http://www.ted.com/talks/ze_frank_are_you_human

This TED Talk is special to me because its title raises an extremely philosophical question, and then answers it with a seemingly joking test. The speech has a very attractive beginning, when Ze Frank declares his speech is going to be a test to see if his audience truly belongs to human beings. He first starts with a series of light-hearted questions containing various human's daily activities, mistakes and thoughts to draw a strong connection to the audience. He then proceeds to more serious, less joyful questions about the time when a person feels unhappy or uncomfortable, which could cause his listeners to be deep in thought.

The talk also applies several apt techniques that make it more compelling. First, the tone of Ze Frank, the speaker, is a bit low and sounds almost like a machine. This voice actually works for this piece of work, because it makes up the scene of a person taking a test on a machine, with the questions being asked by a robot. However, at the same time, Frank distinguishes his delivery from that of a robot by placing emphasis and change of tone on some certain words, as well as repetition, to create proper emphasis and humor throughout the speech. He also makes several hand gestures and eye contacts to further connect to the audience. In addition, he sometimes uses rhetorical devices such as personification to make the speech more interesting.

"Are you human" by Ze Frank is a jovial yet thought-provoking TED Talk that everyone should take a look at.

Half Way Down, Half Way to Go

This marking period, I have learnt a lot from my Public Speaking class.

Firstly, I have become more familiar with speaking-related vocabulary and how each factor in a speech could alter the effects that the speech could bring up. This has allowed me to scrutinize my speech and my performance for what was effective and what needed more work on to enhance the piece. Along with comments and suggestions from my peers and my teacher, I was able to put up in my mind a performance that I would be satisfy with, which boosted my confidence when I actually presented in front of the class. I also applied the lessons I learned in class about the basic of public speaking and how the components would vary depending on the audience and the purpose in real life situations. Such knowledge helped me to prepare suitable speeches, which made me more confident and comfortable when I talked to the large crowd as I knew I had a good speech to present. In short, through theories and practice, I have become more confident and comfortable with speaking in the public.

Secondly, I have gained more knowledge about various forms of public speaking, ranging from monologue to debate. It was interesting to see the differences between each of them regarding style, components and expression, and then to apply those differences into the performance. And even though it was not initially one of my main goals for the class, it was certainly a great piece of knowledge that I have accumulated through the class.

Throughout this marking period, I have been focusing a lot on my style and expression for each of my performance because I thought that these two factors could significantly help connect the audience and draw them into the pieces. I worked a lot on my projection, my tone and my body language in order to best convey the messages and the emotions of the pieces. As I received comments and suggestions from my class and practiced with my friends or on my own, I was able to adjust my projection and my tone as well as picking proper hand gestures and facial expression. As the end of this marking period approaches, I feel more confident about my style of presenting as it has made some progress. I would continue to work on my style to make it even better during the next marking period.

I have also been working on my articulation. I often found myself having troubles pronouncing clearly some words, especially if I was speaking at a relatively fast speed. Fortunately, I had keen teachers and classmates who would point out the words that I need to articulate better and also how fast or slow I should perform a piece in order to make those words clearer. Thanks to those insightful comments, I was able to improve my articulation and my pacing so as to make my performance more compelling. Still, I would put a lot of effort into fixing my articulation during the next marking period, because I know if I could enhance my articulation, I would be even more confident when I speak publicly.

This next marking period, I would want to continue with my three old goals of becoming more confident and becoming better at expressing, in both oral form and written form. I would also want to explore more types of public speaking so that I could compare and contrast them in order to see the connection and the complexity of the performing world. I would also shift my focus from style to articulation because I know that is one of the big problems that I need to work more on. Last but not least, I would try to make each of my performance more “me” than the previous ones. 

Spoken Word Poetry performance

It's so simple,

 So basic, 

Yet we lack it. 

Interaction is nothing without it. 

Unable to make a bond because the fact is, 

We've missed the point. 

The point that connects you and me, 

And not just on a family tree; 

That connects us all from A to Z, 

And not just on eHarmony. 

 Trust.

 Where did it go? 

Or did we even have it years ago?

 Afraid to go on the right track, 

Because we might get stabbed in the back. 

Locking our doors and checking it twice, 

Like we're Santa Clause on a Christmas blight. 

Putting a lock on our phone for protection, 

Because your friends may use it as a weapon. 

Hiding what belongs to us, 

Because we lost our trust in all our lust. 

But trusting each other is a must, 

Because you cant spell trust without us. 

 Trust.

 A firm belief in the reliability, 

Truth, 

Ability, 

Or strength in someone. 

Can you think of anyone?

 I am sure you can, 

Maybe the one that holds your hand. 

But for how long?

 I'm sorry but it's true, 

People can back-stab you.

 But this can change starting with you, 

Because if you trust people, 

They'll trust you. 

You may get hurt but at least you'll live, 

With your heart on your sleeve and something to give. 

 So let's break this cycle of deceit and start this world anew. 

It doesn't start with them,
It starts with you. 

(Source: poetry soup.com)