Shadowing Practice: i’m 47… and i finally understand why women do things to their face | Jeannie Mai - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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I had a couple of days free.
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I had a couple of days free.
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I looked in the mirror and felt like I was looking a little old.
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So I booked a trip to Korea.
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And within an hour of being here,
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I already have two plastic surgery consultations booked.
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Okay, so I know it sounds crazy when you say it out loud, right?
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I can't believe I'm actually at this place where I'm considering plastic surgery.
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And honestly, it's crazy because I don't feel old.
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I just do notice some things
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that come with age make me want to be honest about what are the options out there.
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And I think this is a conversation that more women are having than we admit,
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especially women my age.
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I'm 47, and I don't think anybody prepares you for the moment
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that your face starts changing before you actually feel old inside.
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Because mentally, she's lit.
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But sometimes I'll catch myself on camera or under certain lighting after a long week even maybe,
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and I'll be like, okay, this bitch looks different.
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So I wanna take off my makeup and I wanna take a shower.
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I have a thing with airports.
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As soon as I get in,
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I have to take a bath.
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It's a weird experience to age publicly as a woman,
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especially when your face has been attached to your career for decades.
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Like people don't even realize they're doing it,
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but they compare you to older versions of yourself constantly.
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I mean, sometimes I do it to myself too.
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Your face just becomes part of people's memory, you know?
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And there are versions of me in my 20s and my 30s
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and when I meet people and they mention certain shows that they remember me from,
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like, oh my God, I remember you from How Do I Look?
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You know, you look so different.
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And I'm like, that stings.
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I know I shouldn't be internalizing every compliment so much,
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but I'm a I'm going to be doing it.
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It's just natural.
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Whether we admit it or not,
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there's something psychologically strange about constantly seeing yourself compared to former versions of yourself while you're still actively living your life.
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And I think that Beyonce's internet is so strange about this conversation.
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Women either completely deny doing anything or they become weirdly morally superior about aging naturally.
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But also most people are doing something.
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Lasers, tightening, injectables, skincare.
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Everybody is in some form of maintenance.
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And honestly, I think dishonesty around beauty has become more exhausting than beauty itself.
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For me personally, I don't even think this is about wanting to look younger.
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I think it's about more of wanting to look alive on the outside as I still feel on the inside.
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And that shouldn't automatically mean self-hate.
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That's the part I've been thinking about lately.
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Like, can you love yourself deeply and still wanna tweak something?
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I think the answer is yes.
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And it's interesting because when I really look at my face now,
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I don't see ugliness.
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I see life.
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Those changes are undeniable.
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I've got lashes on now,
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but sometimes I feel like my eyes look more tired than I actually feel.
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I notice that there's heaviness now,
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and there's little lines that say even when I'm not smiling anymore.
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These lines that I have around my eyes right here,
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these are my dad's laugh lines.
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I love my dad's face.
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I think my dad is...
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My mom calls him Vietnamese Montel Williams because he's bald and handsome,
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but I love my dad's laugh lines and I'm noticing I'm exactly inheriting them here.
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And I don't ever want to do anything to them because I don't know,
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they're like the way I smile, you know?
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But I do notice that I have heavy frown lines.
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You know, I do notice that.
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And I have severely dry skin.
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So that doesn't help, you know,
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the elasticity in my face look a little bit fresher.
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You know what?
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Let me pop a light on so you can really see this.
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Also, there are parts of my face that I love more now than I did in my twenties.
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I actually think confidence changes your face.
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And I think that's what catches me off guard isn't aging itself.
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It's when I look tired when I don't feel tired.
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That's what I really want to I think also in your 40s,
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your under eyes and you should have a deep conversation because nobody tells you in your 20s about collagen,
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sleep, hormones, hydration, therapy, Jesus, electrolytes.
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But something needs support.
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Okay, so let's get over to my bath now.
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Just make sure I'm gonna give you a little more censorship.
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So I'm not the type of girl who just looks for plastic surgery, okay?
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I'm surrounded with beauty products that are constantly trying to de-puff,
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de-stress, anti-age, refresh, hydrate my life away.
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There's one thing I'm already noticing about people here in Korea.
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They're so open about beauty conversations.
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Like in LA, some people are telling you the truth, some people aren't.
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But in Korea, they'll casually analyze your forehead over teeth.
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That's refreshing to me.
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I love that.
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I was born in a Vietnamese household where you were told
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if you were too fat or too skinny and it didn't matter if you agreed with it or not,
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you were going to hear it.
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And I think it's very dope to be vulnerable.
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Sitting in a consultation while somebody studies my face under fluorescent lighting is a humbling experience.
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Because even if you're confident,
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there's something very emotionally weird about hearing somebody point out the things that you've never noticed before.
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But I think that's the line that I'm trying to understand for myself right now.
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What's intentional?
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What's insecurity?
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What's maintenance?
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What would I regret?
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I know for sure that I do not want to stop looking like myself.
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That's actually my biggest fear.
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I think fear is looking in the mirror one day and feeling emotionally disconnected from my old face.
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We can't have that happen.
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Especially now when beauty standards change every five seconds.
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Because last year it was pop-sized.
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Then now it's dissolving filler.
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Then aging naturally.
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It's exhausting.
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One thing I know all women are agreeing on is how to still feel good in their own skin
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while moving through the different chapters of your life.
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I'm not chasing perfection anymore.
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Honestly, perfection almost looks weird to me.
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I just want harmony, freshness to still recognize myself when I look in the mirror.
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So I kind of wanted to open up this conversation with my YouTube community.
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Ask me anything.
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Seriously.
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Because I came to Korea to explore consultations,
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treatments, skincare, all of it.
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And I'm curious if this is even interesting for you guys to see me share.
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Not as some dramatic transformation thing,
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but as a real conversation about beauty,
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aging, identity, confidence, maintenance, womanhood.
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All of it.
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And if you guys want,
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maybe I'll actually take you guys through this Korean journey with me in another video.
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Because I just want to know if you're interested and is anybody out there thinking like me?
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You love the way you look.
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You love the honor of aging.
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But you also just want to age well.
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Mmm.
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Mmm.

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About This Lesson

In this lesson, you will practice your English speaking skills using the transcript from Jeannie Mai's reflective conversation about aging and beauty standards. By focusing on her thoughts and expressions, you will enhance your vocabulary and understanding of how people communicate about personal experiences. This exercise will help you improve your English pronunciation and become more comfortable discussing sensitive topics. Engaging in this lesson will not only boost your language skills but also provide insights into cultural conversations surrounding beauty and age.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Plastic surgery - A medical procedure to enhance or alter one's appearance.
  • Aging - The process of getting older, often associated with changes in physical appearance.
  • Honest about - Being truthful regarding one’s feelings or situations.
  • Maintenance - The act of keeping something in good condition, in this context referring to beauty rituals.
  • Self-hate - A feeling of dislike for oneself, often leading to negative self-image.
  • Injectables - A type of cosmetic treatment involving substances injected into the skin to create a youthful appearance.
  • Morally superior - Feeling or believing one has a higher moral standard than others.
  • Skincare - The practice of keeping the skin healthy and attractive.

Practice Tips

To effectively use the shadowing technique with this video, first, listen to Jeannie Mai's conversation a couple of times to grasp the speed and emotional tone. As you repeat her phrases, pay attention to her intonation, stress, and rhythm to improve your English pronunciation. Start with short segments; listen and then repeat each one, ensuring clarity in your speech. This shadowspeak approach will familiarize you with modern conversational English, making it a great addition to your IELTS speaking practice.

Focus on mimicking her voice inflections and pauses to enhance your intonation. If certain phrases feel challenging, practice them individually until you feel confident. Regularly engaging with content like Jeannie's will help you become more fluent in discussing personal and societal topics, making your spoken English sound more natural. Embrace the complexity of the conversation while leveraging the shadowing technique to build confidence in your speaking abilities.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

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