School Speeches/Papers
Posted: 18 Nov 2008, 07:18
I had to write this for public speaking, and since a few people have been posting some of their writings, I figure'd I'd copy and paste it here for you. It's not a story, like I said, It's a speech... I actually have to give this infront of both the middle and the high school. Anyway, cheers.
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How many people here have ever been told “you can’t do it� You don’t have to raise your hands, because I already know… there isn’t a single person that hasn’t heard these words before, at some point in their life.
If you actually haven’t, then I guarantee you that you eventually will. So, “how do you deal with it?†you might ask, and I have an answer. There are actually many ways you could take this. First, you could cave-in and listen to the people, be hey, start doing this and eventually you’ll let anybody say anything they want to you, and all you’ll do will be listen, and actually think it’s true. Instead of thinking for yourself, you’ve let other people tell you what you not only can and can’t do, but to an extent, who and what you are. By listening to people like this, you could pretty much lose yourself.
So, what should you do? Different people will have different answers for this, it may be anything from “just ignore them and walk away,†to “prove ‘em wrong,†and even to “kick their tails from here to china.†Yeah, I probably wouldn’t throw that last one out there, that’s probably one of the last things you want to do. Personally, I’d say just to ignore them… I mean, what better to do?
If you yourself don’t think you can do it, then you’ve lost it from the start… that’s almost, if not just as bad as listening to them. I remember back in the 6th grade, back when I decided to sign up for football. Why did I join? Well, I’ll be honest, probably just because the rest of my friends were. (And yeah, that probably wasn’t the best thing to admit with some of my coaches in the room…) But, I can’t remember a single person saying something positive, just “dude, you’re going to freaking DIE!â€
Were they right? Well, I defiantly wasn’t what you’d consider a star player, or even a skilled player. But they all expected me to quit before conditioning even finished. Shoot, even Coach Pate didn’t have much faith in me.
Why didn’t I quit? It’s really simple… I was sick of being the puny little kid who couldn’t do anything. I told myself, after everything people said , that I wasn’t gonna’ quit. I was going to prove them wrong. I mean, I couldn’t get any worse; it just doesn’t work that way… nowhere to go but up, right?
By the end of the year, I still wasn’t what you’d consider a ‘great player,’ or anywhere near for that fact; but I had shown everybody that I wasn’t going to give up, and that I really did end up putting my heart into it. It may not have shown much, but the effort was there… still is. I’m always trying to get better. My max may not be as high as some other peoples, but that doesn’t mean that I should just sit on the side during weightlifting… I may not be the fastest person on the team, but that doesn’t mean I should just sit at home during the off season instead of going out running and say “Oh well, it’s not like I could really be able to catch them anyway.†I still don’t have a pair of hands, but… actually, you know what… I think I just need a miracle for that. (Although I am working on it…)
It’s just like people saying that I’m never going to get into Chapel Hill. (FYI EDIT: It's one of the major NC colleges, BTW) I’ve had so many people, that will look me straight in the eye and say “it’s not going to happen.†Are they right? Maybe, but I don’t know until I try. I think a good place to start would probably be to stop falling asleep in class, but other than that it’s just giving it my best.
I know that right now, someone out there is thinking “Wasn’t he supposed to be giving an inspirational speech?†Well, I am… only instead of just coming up here and telling some story of a time passed, I figured that that I’d leave giving a message… A message saying that you can do anything, if you’ll only try. My playing football is only one example; I mean, even I’d have to admit that my first year, I was pathetic. Even part of my second year I was pretty bad, but despite people saying that I “could never do it,†I’ve been going three years and still getting better.
So the next time you hear “you can’t do it, don’t even try man,†just don’t listen… and go prove them wrong.
--------------------
How many people here have ever been told “you can’t do it� You don’t have to raise your hands, because I already know… there isn’t a single person that hasn’t heard these words before, at some point in their life.
If you actually haven’t, then I guarantee you that you eventually will. So, “how do you deal with it?†you might ask, and I have an answer. There are actually many ways you could take this. First, you could cave-in and listen to the people, be hey, start doing this and eventually you’ll let anybody say anything they want to you, and all you’ll do will be listen, and actually think it’s true. Instead of thinking for yourself, you’ve let other people tell you what you not only can and can’t do, but to an extent, who and what you are. By listening to people like this, you could pretty much lose yourself.
So, what should you do? Different people will have different answers for this, it may be anything from “just ignore them and walk away,†to “prove ‘em wrong,†and even to “kick their tails from here to china.†Yeah, I probably wouldn’t throw that last one out there, that’s probably one of the last things you want to do. Personally, I’d say just to ignore them… I mean, what better to do?
If you yourself don’t think you can do it, then you’ve lost it from the start… that’s almost, if not just as bad as listening to them. I remember back in the 6th grade, back when I decided to sign up for football. Why did I join? Well, I’ll be honest, probably just because the rest of my friends were. (And yeah, that probably wasn’t the best thing to admit with some of my coaches in the room…) But, I can’t remember a single person saying something positive, just “dude, you’re going to freaking DIE!â€
Were they right? Well, I defiantly wasn’t what you’d consider a star player, or even a skilled player. But they all expected me to quit before conditioning even finished. Shoot, even Coach Pate didn’t have much faith in me.
Why didn’t I quit? It’s really simple… I was sick of being the puny little kid who couldn’t do anything. I told myself, after everything people said , that I wasn’t gonna’ quit. I was going to prove them wrong. I mean, I couldn’t get any worse; it just doesn’t work that way… nowhere to go but up, right?
By the end of the year, I still wasn’t what you’d consider a ‘great player,’ or anywhere near for that fact; but I had shown everybody that I wasn’t going to give up, and that I really did end up putting my heart into it. It may not have shown much, but the effort was there… still is. I’m always trying to get better. My max may not be as high as some other peoples, but that doesn’t mean that I should just sit on the side during weightlifting… I may not be the fastest person on the team, but that doesn’t mean I should just sit at home during the off season instead of going out running and say “Oh well, it’s not like I could really be able to catch them anyway.†I still don’t have a pair of hands, but… actually, you know what… I think I just need a miracle for that. (Although I am working on it…)
It’s just like people saying that I’m never going to get into Chapel Hill. (FYI EDIT: It's one of the major NC colleges, BTW) I’ve had so many people, that will look me straight in the eye and say “it’s not going to happen.†Are they right? Maybe, but I don’t know until I try. I think a good place to start would probably be to stop falling asleep in class, but other than that it’s just giving it my best.
I know that right now, someone out there is thinking “Wasn’t he supposed to be giving an inspirational speech?†Well, I am… only instead of just coming up here and telling some story of a time passed, I figured that that I’d leave giving a message… A message saying that you can do anything, if you’ll only try. My playing football is only one example; I mean, even I’d have to admit that my first year, I was pathetic. Even part of my second year I was pretty bad, but despite people saying that I “could never do it,†I’ve been going three years and still getting better.
So the next time you hear “you can’t do it, don’t even try man,†just don’t listen… and go prove them wrong.