marissamuehl
Jan 3, 2017
Undergraduate / Aspiring to Help Others as the way to achieve success - Essay A [4]
My heart beat fast, my palms were abnormally sweaty, and I could not seem to control my trembling legs as I waited patiently to give my first speech to twenty-five strangers. I was not picked to go first, thank God, but I could not help but stress over the thought of messing up my speech in front of everyone and completely humiliating myself. In my head, I recounted all the techniques my Professor taught us the first week of class. Breath in, breath out, take small sips of water, and wipe your sweaty palms on your pants. All these techniques seemed to be helping in small ways, but unfortunately my name was called and I had to go give my speech. After rehearsing in my mirror at home for hours on end, and annoying all my roommates with the endless practices in our living room, I managed to successfully give my speech to the class just as I had planned. The nervousness faded as I finished my speech and headed back to my seat. I listened to the rest of my classmates give their interesting speeches until the class finished. At the end of class, our professor asked to speak with three students, one being me. The first idea that popped into my head was that I had done something wrong. "Oh gosh she hated my speech and I have to redo the whole assignment" was the crazy thought I had. However, this was definitely not the case. My professor ended up telling us that our speeches were her favorite of all her classes and that we all had a talent for public speaking. She added that there was a public speaking contest coming up soon and she needed to choose someone to represent her class, and she asked us to please consider the offer. I was completely shocked by this news and was so proud of myself for overcoming my fear of public speaking and in the end giving a great speech. My professor ended up having the three of us draw for a spot in the contest. She felt we would all make it to finals since we were good speakers and she could not decide herself who should go. I did not end up drawing number one, and I was disappointed because I felt the contest would have been a great opportunity in my life.
Even though I was not able to compete in the contest, this compliment my professor gave me boosted my confidence in myself and helped me realize the path I wanted to take in life. Up until this point, I felt so lost and did not know what I wanted to eventually do for a career. Now that I have finished the public speaking class and my professor wanted me to be in the speech contest, I realized where my strengths lay. I am now fascinated with learning how to be an effective communicator because I feel communication is an important trait to have in this day and age. The result of this fascination led me to choose the communication major at Texas A&M. My goal in life is to be able to work with children and I believe I can successfully achieve this goal with Texas A&M's communication degree. I plan to graduate from Texas A&M University with a communication major and a minor in Spanish. Once I have accomplished this bachelor degree, I want to go on and pursue my master's degree in Speech- Language Pathology at Texas Women's University. After I have graduated from Texas Women's University, I will be able to live out my goal of working with children. I want to change lives by helping students with speech impediments, helping them overcome their everyday challenges. I believe that the Communication degree I could obtain from Texas A&M University will be an accomplishment that will one-day help many struggling children. Danny Thomas once said, "Success has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It's what you do for others." I want to be successful for what I have done for others. I know Texas A&M University can lead me to this success.
I want to be successful for what I have done for others
My heart beat fast, my palms were abnormally sweaty, and I could not seem to control my trembling legs as I waited patiently to give my first speech to twenty-five strangers. I was not picked to go first, thank God, but I could not help but stress over the thought of messing up my speech in front of everyone and completely humiliating myself. In my head, I recounted all the techniques my Professor taught us the first week of class. Breath in, breath out, take small sips of water, and wipe your sweaty palms on your pants. All these techniques seemed to be helping in small ways, but unfortunately my name was called and I had to go give my speech. After rehearsing in my mirror at home for hours on end, and annoying all my roommates with the endless practices in our living room, I managed to successfully give my speech to the class just as I had planned. The nervousness faded as I finished my speech and headed back to my seat. I listened to the rest of my classmates give their interesting speeches until the class finished. At the end of class, our professor asked to speak with three students, one being me. The first idea that popped into my head was that I had done something wrong. "Oh gosh she hated my speech and I have to redo the whole assignment" was the crazy thought I had. However, this was definitely not the case. My professor ended up telling us that our speeches were her favorite of all her classes and that we all had a talent for public speaking. She added that there was a public speaking contest coming up soon and she needed to choose someone to represent her class, and she asked us to please consider the offer. I was completely shocked by this news and was so proud of myself for overcoming my fear of public speaking and in the end giving a great speech. My professor ended up having the three of us draw for a spot in the contest. She felt we would all make it to finals since we were good speakers and she could not decide herself who should go. I did not end up drawing number one, and I was disappointed because I felt the contest would have been a great opportunity in my life.
Even though I was not able to compete in the contest, this compliment my professor gave me boosted my confidence in myself and helped me realize the path I wanted to take in life. Up until this point, I felt so lost and did not know what I wanted to eventually do for a career. Now that I have finished the public speaking class and my professor wanted me to be in the speech contest, I realized where my strengths lay. I am now fascinated with learning how to be an effective communicator because I feel communication is an important trait to have in this day and age. The result of this fascination led me to choose the communication major at Texas A&M. My goal in life is to be able to work with children and I believe I can successfully achieve this goal with Texas A&M's communication degree. I plan to graduate from Texas A&M University with a communication major and a minor in Spanish. Once I have accomplished this bachelor degree, I want to go on and pursue my master's degree in Speech- Language Pathology at Texas Women's University. After I have graduated from Texas Women's University, I will be able to live out my goal of working with children. I want to change lives by helping students with speech impediments, helping them overcome their everyday challenges. I believe that the Communication degree I could obtain from Texas A&M University will be an accomplishment that will one-day help many struggling children. Danny Thomas once said, "Success has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It's what you do for others." I want to be successful for what I have done for others. I know Texas A&M University can lead me to this success.