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Gabby Bean

CAS 100A, Section 052: Effective Speech

Sergio Pena

This I Believe Speech

If I took a poll right now, I would guess that most of us like to watch movies, and that we

all have that one “favorite” movie. I am a huge Disney fan, anyone else here a Disney fan? For

me that one “favorite” movie is Cinderella. Cinderella was different, her friends were mice, and

she had a Fairy Godmother. Despite all the bad things in her life she still showed kindness, and

in the end, she married her prince and had her happily ever after.

The need for a kind word spoken, or a friendly smile, truly helps us get through the day.

I know I need to hear a kind word, and see a friendly smile, to get through each day! You

see, I have ADHD which makes it difficult to make friends and fit in in social settings. I have

difficulty concentrating and staying focused causing me to have to study harder and longer than

most students to achieve my goals. Some say I am different.

A quote from the real-life version of Cinderella, is the perfect “This I Believe Statement

for me, “Have Courage and Be Kind”. In the middle of this crazy life, I have adopted these five

words as my personal motto. They remind me to have courage when I am going through tough

times, and to be kind, treating others as I want to be treated. To Have Courage and Be Kind may

seem like five simple words, but they are not.

What does it mean to have courage? Having courage could be anytime you put yourself

out in front of the world for all to see. It is also how we deal when bad things happen. When

COVID hit, and everything shut down, I found myself confused and scared that everything was

changing. Senior Prom, High School graduation, in person events, and even family gatherings,
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all cancelled. And oh yes, let’s just start college during a pandemic! I found myself wanting to

just scream. Like everyone else, why did this have to happen now. I had to find the courage to

rise above the fog, accept the changes in front of me, and figure out how to navigate through it

all.

When I think about courage, I also think about fighting Internal Struggles. We all have

them. For example, giving a speech in front of your classmates. Will I mess up? Will I look

bad? What if I draw a blank during a speech? That little voice in my head making me question

myself.

A huge internal struggle I have is when I take exams, especially the big exams. My

ADHD makes it hard for me to study and remember all of the material. I usually need more time

to prepare than most students which causes me to stress out and become very anxious or nervous.

My mind races during the test and I can’t seem to relax. I know the material but have difficulty

answering the questions. My thoughts get jumbled up in my brain and I second guess myself and

I feel very overwhelmed. Having the courage to fight this internal struggle is really hard, but I

made a promise to myself that I will never give up!

How about finding courage to make friends when you are different? Wanting to have

relationships, but knowing I am misunderstood, because of perception, makes it difficult to reach

out. Or what about having the courage to stand up for what I believe in? My belief in God and

the values I hold close to myself, are different from many others, and that is ok. I need to stay

strong and stay positive in those moments.

Now, let’s talk about what it means to be kind. Being kind to others even when they are

mean to you is a real trick. I recently found out that a group of girls, who I thought were my

teammates and friends, were talking about me. Saying very hurtful things. I think that when
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people hurt other people it is because they are unhappy with themselves. So, I decided to speak

kind words to those girls, smile, and continue going about my day.

Kindness is also holding the door for someone or offering to help when you see someone

struggling. That one gesture can make a difference to someone having a bad day or going

through a tough time.

But here is something else to think about. I believe the most difficult person to be kind to

is ourselves. Do you ever listen to how you talk to yourself? If you talked to someone like you

talk to yourself, they would probably punch you in the nose. An example is I always tell myself

I need to be perfect, that mistakes are not acceptable. Why do I tell myself that? No one is

perfect so why put such pressure on myself. We all need to encourage ourselves and give

ourselves a break. Be kind to yourself because you deserve it.

HAVE COURAGE AND BE KIND! Those five words that have changed my life. It

takes courage to put yourself out there for the world to see. It takes courage to walk out of your

comfort zone. For some of us, it takes courage to do things that others take for granted. But we

also need to show kindness. Showing kindness to others, especially those we might not deserve

it, and especially show kindness to ourselves because we deserve it. Remember, Cinderella was

different. Her friends were mice, and she had a Fairy Godmother. In the end, she found her

prince and lived happily ever after. Like her, I believe that you need to HAVE COURAGE

AND BE KIND! To have my happily ever after, I need to fight through each day with courage,

kindness, and a little “Fairy Godmother” magic.