Shadowing Practice: The Secret to Knowing Yourself Better - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hey guys, welcome back to my channel.
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This is Mina Su Choi and you are watching Mina Su Wei.
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Chapter 1.
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How to live life your way.
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Today is my podcast time.
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Yay!
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Well, if I were to specifically talk about my podcast, I always love listening to podcasts.
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I think it motivates me.
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And because during
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Miss Earth specifically, I was doing a lot of public speaking.
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I would be on stage talking to like a big audience.
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And I'm a firm believer of like what you hear becomes your language
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and what you like read becomes like your writing or your perspective.
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I trained my speaking by listening to a lot of podcasts.
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So I had a phase of my life where I listened to a lot of podcasts and I was like, you know what?
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I also want to do my own podcast.
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So I had that series.
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If you guys do recall, it was called At Your Home.
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But I kind of stopped along the way
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because I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my career.
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After like Miss Earth, I was going kind of back and forth.
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Do I want to be an actress or what I want to do?
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Do I want to just be a public speaker?
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Like I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my career.
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And at the same time, I was busy filming single soprano at the time.
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So yeah, that's why I kind of stopped in the middle.
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But now I finally thought it was a really good time to start again.
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So I here I am starting my podcast once again.
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So that's that I'm really happy to be back.
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Today's topic is how to live your life your own way.
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I think that relates a lot to the the the name of this entire YouTube channel
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which is Mina Soo Wei
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and I got I kind of want to share with you guys the finding of the name of this channel.
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So Mina Soo Wei actually came from the episode I filmed with Choi Jin -nim.
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Yeah when Choi Jin -nim and I filmed like the content related to the premiere for Devil Wears Prada.
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I wanted to make it into a funny skit.
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It was kind of like a parody since the main protagonist is Anne Hathaway.
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I was like, Anne Hathaway, Mina Su Wei.
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So I introduced myself as Mina Su Wei.
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And it's sort of at the end of that video, I said, it's my own way, like Mina Su Wei.
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I kind of like the concept of it because I'm essentially saying
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that my way is the way that I'm going to live my life.
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What it means to be living my own way.
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I think this also like goes back to the scene where in Singles Inferno, I was like, I'm Chae Minasu.
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I remember that went like viral and I was getting a lot of hate.
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I was getting like shit on.
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People were criticizing and saying, oh, she wasn't being very humble.
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But that's my favorite scene because regardless of any validation or anyone saying anything, I just knew who I was.
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The fact that I had the courage to say that out loud was a reminder to myself that, you know, this is who you are.
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If I were to give myself a word of advice, I think I would still go back and say,
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you know what, like, keep your head high up and know who you are.
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I would tell myself to keep reminding myself that.
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I think the most important part of deciding things your own way is that regardless of someone's validation,
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regardless of someone's opinion, and you yourself having
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that faith in yourself is really big for me because we live in a world where it's really competitive.
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You're constantly comparing yourself to other people.
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That person's doing this.
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That person's doing so much better than me.
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It's inevitable.
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I'm obviously going to compare myself to other YouTube channels.
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I'm going to compare myself to other influencers, other celebrities.
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But I think it's a good reminder that this is only my own way.
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This is something only Mina Su Choi can do.
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And also, I thought this was kind of interesting because you know how your last name is your constant.
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Like it defines who you are, like where your family is from.
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But the fact that my last name was erased and we switched that to way, it kind of gave me that,
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like, I don't know, like freedom, that flexibility.
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I'm not defined by my last name.
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I'm defined by my own way.
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It kind of gave me that message.
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So that's how I interpret it in my own mind.
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So yeah, I love the name of the channel.
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Hopefully my own way helps you figure out your way as well.
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Yeah, I'm getting like kind of hungry while as we speak.
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So I'm gonna do a little snacky time.
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I personally really love dried like dried fruits.
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So I'm gonna munch on very mixed banana chips as we talk more.
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Moments when living as myself was scary.
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There's a question below here.
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It says, are you really not afraid of being disliked by others?
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That is not true.
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I'm like terrified of being disliked by people.
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When I was younger, I was always scared of people disliking me.
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27 year old Mina, I'm still scared, but I'm not as scared.
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as much as before.
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I was being asked by Singles Inferno for an interview for a couple of years.
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I've always been kind of scared of putting myself out there
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because I know my personality and I know that I can be misunderstood sometimes.
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So I actually rejected the interview offers.
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And then at one point, I realized that in order to be where I want to be, I need to endure the hate.
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Because if, yeah, I wanted to become famous.
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I wanted people to know who I was.
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But in that journey of course it requires the prerequisite to becoming someone well known is also enduring
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that hate and I wasn't going to be liked by everyone the moment
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that I realized that for myself is
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when I finally had the courage to say yes to singles inferno the interview even though I was mentally prepared
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it was still hard but I think
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that time was such a big time of my life
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because I realized the people that were really close to me
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or people that were fond of me people
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that knew me personally they had so many good things to say about me and like stand up for me.
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People that knew me stood up for me.
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I had friends that like were fighting my haters.
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I have friends that were making TikTok videos about me saying
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that I don't mean it since like high school
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and she's such a good person which I'm so grateful for because a lot of those friends I lost in touch.
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I wasn't talking to them for years
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but then they still remember the interaction we had a long time ago
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and they still had something to say about me
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and fight these people which is something that i'm really grateful for
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so that's something i learned even an experience like
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that where you're extremely hated
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that can be an also a positive experience where a delightful surprise
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that you learn that you are loved by people in your life
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that was a once in a life experience that i have dealt with that was actually more of a grateful experience.
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So going back to, are you really not afraid of being disliked by others?
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I'm still afraid of it, but now I'm better at coping with it because at the end of the day,
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these people don't know who you are.
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These people don't know the journey you've endured.
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They don't know all the narratives, all the history that you've dealt with in your entire life.
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They're not gonna know how I lived every second of my life for 27 years.
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But people out there that know, that have a better glimpse of it, they know better.
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And as long as they are still choosing to be by your side and they're still rooting for you, they still have that faith in you,
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then I know I've lived my life faithfully and I know I live my life as the right Mina Su.
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Some hatred is noise.
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Some could be constructive criticisms.
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But I'm able to differentiate that, like what to hear and what to cut off.
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Has Mina ever cared about people's reactions on TV or social media or changed her appearance to gain approval from others?
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Um, I've seen myself on Singles Inferno and oh my gosh, I was using my eyebrows so much, like my muscles.
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I was like, damn, like I need some Botox.
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I did think of that though.
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That's so random, but I did think of that.
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I do care about it, but I try not to care too much about it.
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Again, this relates back to our like title, Minasue.
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I try my best to stay really introspective.
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I try to be more objective about myself instead of completely relying on someone else's opinion in.
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Even though it does bother me, even though it gets to me sometimes like when I get a feedback, then I would be like,
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I would think of that.
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But then most of the time I try to be my own judge of my appearance or my looks.
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How can we distinguish between a life recognized by others and life I truly want?
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That's a very interesting question.
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How can we distinguish between a life recognized by others and not life?
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This is a practice that I do.
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I think I have a job that requires me to constantly meet people.
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But I also make sure I have that time to be on my own.
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So I can reflect on my own, which is why I actually have this journal.
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If you guys have seen my journey from day one, some of you guys might know this is called my lucky journal.
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This is where I try my best to be self reflective.
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This is like my therapist.
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This is my best friend.
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This is myself.
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There's so many identities to this journal, but I go back to this journal, not only to be a better person,
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but to be a kind person to myself.
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I use this as a space where I talk about my schedule or I write my mantras.
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I write motivational things and I write a lot of quotes that I like in books as well.
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So this is my third journal.
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Wait, it's my fourth journal.
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It might be my fourth journal.
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In my previous journals, I had a lot of quotes from books
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because I used to do a lot of public speaking and I would kind of incorporate those quotes when I talk.
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So I wrote that a lot because the best way to, you know, learn something is by writing.
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I'm a firm believer of that.
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So to talk a little bit about my...
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Lucky journal.
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There's my like favorite anime character.
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And then I have a set of rules here.
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For every lucky journal, I have a set of rules.
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There are plenty of rules, but some of the rules I'm just going to like quickly share with you guys are these.
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May every word written here bless you with knowledge and delightful surprises that will guide you through your once again loving journey.
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Use knowledge, what you know, what you understand as a means to serve yourself and one another.
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Oh, this is like my personal favorite.
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Do not be afraid to express just because you don't think you sound smart.
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Since I'm writing, I wanted to lift that pressure off.
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That's why I wrote, you know what?
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You can sound dumb.
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It's fine.
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Grammar 신경 안 쓰고 그냥 just write.
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You know, also, when you're learning a new language, they say the best way to learn a new language isn't by having the perfect impeccable grammar.
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It's just like yapping, just saying something.
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I am Mina Su Choi.
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Just say, I am Mina Su Choi.
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It's by starting there.
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You don't need to start perfect.
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Not just modern generation, but then a lot of people pressure themselves so much.
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We live in a competitive world, especially we live in Seoul, South Korea.
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You're constantly going to compare yourself to other people.
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And you're constantly going to want to sound smart.
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You're going to want to look better or yada yada.
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And this was a good reminder for me to just write.
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That's why I wrote that.
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Oh, and the moment you open these pages, the world becomes kind and understanding.
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No dark, no good things exist beyond here.
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And this, the second one also is related.
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All words are forgiven and free from shame from here on.
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I think I have like good girl syndrome.
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I want to be that perfect daughter.
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I think a lot of, you know, Asian households like K -Jangnyeol.
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I am K -Jangnyeol slash K -Wedongdai, but a lot of K -Girls would understand.
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You always need to be perfect you always need to have your shit together.
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But you know, sometimes you don't have to have your shit together.
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And you need a space where you can just where you don't have it all together.
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And to me, this was the space where I didn't have to be perfect.
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I was a beauty pageant queen.
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We're supposed to send kind messages.
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We're a peace, protect our environment.
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Because a lot of the message I was sending at that time were had to be kind messages that I felt like,
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oh, I have these intrusive thoughts.
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I have these negative thoughts.
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Like I'm not perfect.
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I'm not good enough.
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But by projecting those thoughts on here, in a sense, like this was kind of like my this like forgave me.
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So it was yeah, it's like a little ritual thing
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that I did to remind myself to let myself know that I'm human.
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And my imperfect or my unkind thoughts are very natural.
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And I have a space where I can share it.
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So whenever I use it, whenever I use it to channel out my emotions, this gives me luck in some way, shape or form.
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I got lucky and I would become more aware of who I am, which is a gift.
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So that's why it's called the lucky journal.
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I think this is like such a good practice.
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When I was lost in my mid twenties and my early twenties, I wasn't sure of who I was, what I even liked.
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Cause there's a point in your life where you kind of forget, But do I like these things because I truly like them?
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Or do I like these things because my friend group or other people like it?
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I think knowing that is so important in your 20s.
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And I'm still trying to figure that out as well.
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But to figure that out, you need to be aware of yourself.
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To me, like this is almost like a living thing.
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Having something, somebody in a way that you have to talk to about who, what you like and what you dislike,
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what you hate and what you love.
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So that's good practice for me to kind of differentiate those two worlds.
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Have your own journal.
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Yeah.
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Because I listen to a lot of podcasts, I think they've always mentioned journaling is good.
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At first, I was like, it seems so nerdy.
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And then one day I just tried it because ever since I was younger, I always wrote diaries.
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Even though I never finished my diary, I always wrote it anyways and as I was adulting, I was like, you know what?
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Maybe I should start writing.
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Like these podcast people are recommending it.
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I was like, maybe I should try it.
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And then it just became, wow.
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I was like, oh my gosh, this is so therapeutic.
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This became like one of the biggest, like the best discovery in my 20s that writing can be so good for you.
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I guess a tip as a rule for journaling is definitely listening to all the advices, trying it and seeing if it's 똥인지, 전jang인지.
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And I'm a firm believer of if you don't try, you don't know if it works for you or not.
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You got to like try it to failure.
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Maybe that's not the best advice, but you got to try it out for yourself to know if it works for you or not.
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One rule that I do want to share is do not revisit to change.
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Only read.
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Observe.
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The past is for you to only observe and learn, not change.
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I have stars on it.
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I have double starred.
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When I was younger, I wrote my diary and I would rip it apart because I'd be so
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embarrassed of what I thought back in the day.
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You tend to cringe at your younger self.
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You tend to be embarrassed of the mistakes you made in the past.
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So you try to erase that from your memory.
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But I think as painful as it is, you need to remember those pain to become better.
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Those experiences make up who you are you can't forget those memories they're still memories right
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so i don't scratch out anything that's like a one rule i have i really love
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that last um rule that i wrote also my rules
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that i have from my journal applies in the real world as well
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you can't really go back to the past
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and change we can't suddenly go back to like five days ago ten days ago and change what we've already done.
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All we can do is remember it and decide, Oh, next time this happens again, maybe I'll do it some different way, some better way.
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So I have very realistic goals, realistic rules that I would apply to my real life as well as to my journal.
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So I think having realistic rules would be a tip, something that's more obtainable as something that's doable.
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What kind of life I desire?
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The life I desire is a very full, full life.
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I know that's not very specific, but maybe it's like ambiguous in a way, vague, but I want to live a very full life.
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I want to experience the hardships.
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I want to experience the happiness, the sadness and anger.
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I want to have like a very full emotion life.
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There's a term that I actually use, the absolute value, The 절대값 for emotions is exactly the same.
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So how sad you are is also how happy you are.
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And how angry you are is like, I think they're all the same.
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So to feel really happy in life is also to experience that sadness in life, that anger in life.
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I want to experience all of those in life.
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That's a life that I desire.
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And I hope for you as well, girl or boy.
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Oh, that's a very interesting question.
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How to make important decisions.
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When I make big decisions, I go back to what my values are.
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It doesn't matter.
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Small decision, big decision, all your values should align.
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I'm like a believer of that.
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So I would go back, I would write to my journal and kind of remind myself, what is my value?
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What is important in life?
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I would like write that and see if I make this decision, does it align with that?
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Because even the smallest decisions in your life, it reflects who you are as a person.
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Like say I throw trash on the floor, it says a lot about you.
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So I think that's how I make big decisions.
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It was literally competing for Miss Earth.
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I was terrified of competing in Miss Earth.
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I didn't want to compete because I felt like I wasn't ready.
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I was like, does it make sense for me?
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Does it align with my values?
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Me not having the courage to compete in a big stage?
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I was like, no. But when I make decisions, I have another way of deciding.
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The second one is, this is like my personal value, but I kind of always want to be an inspiration for young girls.
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I want them to live a self -sufficient, independent life.
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Happy, like, tangcha -go -ba -si.
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That's a life I want little girls to strive for.
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And I hope when they look at me, they feel that way.
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But if not, that's okay, too.
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I'm getting there, too.
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I also think of, if I were to make this decision, would young people look at me and be like,
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I think I can do it, too.
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And I think
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Miss Earth was definitely that moment.
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It's like, oh, I want to have the courage to put myself out there like Mina on you.
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That's like one time that I would say that it aligned with my values.
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Mina Su is still getting to know herself.
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Yes, it is true.
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I am still getting to know myself.
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So I want to know what my preferences are.
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I want to know what my味感 is.
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I want to know what my personal color is.
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Even small things like that, I think such a wonderful discovery about yourself.
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I love getting to know myself.
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And I hope you also love getting to near yourself.
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If you're someone that's still trying to figure out who you are, that's a challenge you're going to do for the rest of your life.
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But if you're getting somewhere, it's fine.
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You're still making improvements.
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But if you're still trying to like start and you're trying to improve your way out of it,
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then an advice I have for you as an 언니 or even a 동생 or who cares.
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I think just spending some time on your own, giving yourself that time to self -reflect, to be more introspective, to get to know yourself better.
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Also, you have to get out of your comfort zone.
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I'm almost like kind of like addicted to it, putting myself in an uncomfortable situation.
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But anyways, I'm never comfortable.
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So putting yourself out there is definitely a good way to learn more about yourself.
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Were you naturally high in confidence or was it built over time as you lived?
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Maybe to others could seem like I'm confident, but I'm very insecure.
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Like my left profile is not it.
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I'm always going to show you guys my right profile.
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I think what gives me confidence is definitely the fact that I know I have my insecurities.
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Because being confident isn't just about hiding all your insecurities,
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but knowing that you lack in areas where you lack and you excel in ways you excel.
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I can be portrayed as being confident because I'm not scared to admit that I'm insecure.
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I once had a therapist when I was in college told me you're imperfectly perfect.
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And I really like that phrase.
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I'm so imperfect that I'm perfect the way I am.
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And that kind of stuck around my head.
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And it reminded me the fact that I admit that I lack is what gives me confidence.
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And also, I had great people around me always remind me that I was just my parents.
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Love you.
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Love you, family.
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Thank you, Amapa.
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So the answer to were you naturally high in confidence or was it built over time you lived?
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I would say it was built over time.
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So that is what I have today that I wanted to share with you guys.
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I did go back and forth,
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but I hope you guys still got something out of this podcast I hope you guys had a pleasant evening with me.
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I had a really good time
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Obviously, there are gonna be a much more interesting episodes as well and I hope you guys can tune in and
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Hopefully we can share our journey together please let me know
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if you guys have any other topics you guys want me to specifically dive into and See you guys later
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Bye have a loving day I'm going to go ahead and put it in the middle of the middle.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “The Secret to Knowing Yourself Better”. This video has 28 sentences and 4213 words to shadow. The speech runs for 21:56. The speaker talks fast, about 192 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 82% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start. 15 of its 28 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| podcast noun | /ˈpɑdˌkæst/ | A program, especially an audio program, produced on a regular basis, delivered over the Internet in a compressed digital format and designed for playback on… |
| remind verb | /ɹəˈmaɪnd/ | To cause one to experience a memory (of someone or something); to bring to the notice or consideration (of a person). |
| scare verb | /skɛɚ/ | To frighten, terrify, startle, especially in a minor way. |
| dislike verb | /dɪsˈlaɪk/ | To have a feeling of aversion or antipathy towards; not to like. |
| compare verb | /kəmˈpɛɚ/ | To assess the similarities and differences between two or more things [“to compare X with Y”]. Having made the comparison of X with Y, one might have found it… |
| compete verb | /kəmˈpiːt/ | To be in battle or in a rivalry with another for the same thing, position, or reward; to contend. |
| courage noun | /ˈkʌ.ɹɪd͡ʒ/ | The quality of being confident, not afraid or easily intimidated, but without being incautious or inconsiderate. |
| believer noun | /bɪˈlivɚ/ | A person who believes; especially regarding religion. |
| align verb | /əˈlaɪn/ | To form a line; to fall into line. |
| regardless adverb | /ɹɪˈɡɑɹd.lɪs/ | Without attention to warnings or indications of bad consequences. |
| reflect verb | /ɹɪˈflɛkt/ | To bend back (light, etc.) from a surface. |
| grateful adjective | /ˈɡɹeɪtf(ə)l/ | Of a person or their actions, feelings, etc.: expressing gratitude or appreciation; appreciative, thankful. |
| emotion noun | /ɪˈməʊ.ʃən/ | A person's internal state of being and involuntary physiological response to an object or a situation, based on or tied to physical state and sensory data. |
| realistic adjective | /ˌɹɪəˈlɪs.tɪk/ | Expressed or represented as being accurate, practicable, or not idealistic. |
| reminder noun | /ɹɪˈmaɪndə(ɹ)/ | Someone or something that reminds. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. | |
| figure out verb | To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce. | |
| go back verb | To return to a place or state after having been there at a previous time. | |
| stand up for verb | To speak or act in support or defense of (a person, a cause, a belief, or the like). | |
| come over verb | To affect in a sudden, unprecedented or surprising manner; to overwhelm a person's ordinarily contrary impulse. | |
| cut off verb | /ˌkʌt ˈɔf/ [ˌkɐɾ ˈɔf] | To remove by cutting. |
| get out of verb | To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of. | |
| make up verb | /ˌmeɪk ˈʌp/ | To constitute, to compose. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was called · was erased · being disliked |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've always been · have dealt · you've endured |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | people which is · own, which is |
| Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past | was doing · was trying · was going |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 136 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, wanna, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: therapist /ˈθɛɹəpɪst/, bother /ˈbɑðɚ/, aesthetic /ɛsˈθɛ.tɪk/, therapeutic /ˌθɛɹ.əˈpjuː.tɪk/, faithfully /ˈfeɪθfəli/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: emotion /ɪˈməʊ.ʃən/, gosh /ɡɑːʃ/, distinguish /dɪˈstɪŋ.ɡwɪʃ/, validation /ˌvæl.əˈdeɪ.ʃən/, differentiate /dɪf.əˈɹɛn.ʃi.eɪt/
- Long words — get the stress right: naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, validation /ˌvæl.əˈdeɪ.ʃən/, differentiate /dɪf.əˈɹɛn.ʃi.eɪt/, essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/, inspiration /ˌɪn.spɪˈɹeɪ.ʃən/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like podcast, remind, scare.
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.