I gave my very first Toastmasters speech! It was titled "My Many Identities."
I have to admit, it was a lot more relaxed than several other talks I have given.
And only two "uh"s! Yay!
Here's the content of my speech so that the answer to the ever-annoying "about yourself" question is recorded here for posterity. This is who I am, at this point in my life.
"Good afternoon, everyone!
Now, did you have an opportunity to listen to Laverne Cox - famous tv actress and transgender personality - talk at BSU? I want to quote from her talk. This particular line helped me resolve that eternal question in my head - who am I?
There are so many different components at the intersections of your multiple identities. Recognize them. Own them.
Also, there's a person I really admire - Natasha Badhwar. She's a filmmaker and media-trainer. This is what she has to say,
Adopt every identity you run into. Be
everyone. There are so many selves to be.
I have multiple identities and many selves. I will describe 3 selves of mine, 3 aspects of my personality today.
First, I am a family person. I value family life. There is a famous Indian film actress, Priyanka Chopra. Here is what she says,
Keep your family close and then nothing else will matter.
I believe in this. I grew up in an extended-family setting with grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins. Now, being far away from family, I cherish the moments I had with them. I think family brings diversity to your viewpoints and perspectives. It also brings variety to the dinner table! I love potatoes. Living all by myself now, I find that my dinner every other night consists of fried potatoes. With family, my uncle loves ridge gourd and my grandmom loves tomatoes! We ate everyone's favourite dishes at the dining table and got to experience different tastes. Variety is the spice of life!
The second aspect of my personality is that I look at the world through rose-tinted glasses. I am a dreamer and an idealist. Have you watched the Lord of the Rings movies? In the first movie, the camera pans to show Frodo sitting under a tree reading a book as Gandalf rides up the road. That is me - like Frodo. I love staying lost in my thoughts, staring into sunset skies and clouds and being perfectly happy all by myself.
The third aspect of my personality is that I like to believe I am a polymath, a pluralist. Architect K.T. Ravindran said,
"There is no unilinear direction for any profession. It is far more enriching to be doing different things at the same time rather than just one thing. You become a far more wholesome professional and far more wholesome human being because of the range of issues and the people you have an opportunity to respond to. That plurality of experience perhaps is the purpose of life or one of the purposes."
I have an undergraduate degree in Architecture and graduate degrees in Landscape Architecture and Information and Communication Sciences - as different as chalk and cheese. I believe that you should pursue all your interests, you have one life after all. So, I decided to pursue all my fields of interests.
These are the three aspects of my personality I chose to talk about to you today because I feel these are the most important in my life at this point.
Looking to the future - what will I be, who will I be? I do know that I will be the best version of myself. Whether that be expanding my skill sets, broadening my education, becoming a better person, I know that I will keep learning and growing.
So, that's it. I hope that gave you a snapshot of who I am.
Thank you."
(Well, I did not include Architect K.T. Ravindran's quote in my Toastmasters speech. I included it here because it defines my paradigm.)
