My Personal Philosophy: Unique Traits

Your Personal Philosophy

For your FOA on The Stranger, you will prepare a speech that demonstrates your personal philosophy.

In the speech, you may choose to explore your own answers to questions like:

In a seemingly indifferent universe, how do you create a meaningful life?

What is your view of the purpose of life?

What should we value, and why?

Are you defining your existence or are you allowing it to be defined by others? How does this affect the way you live and think?

Is the world absurd? Is there a point? If so, what is it?

You can go beyond these questions and you can pick and choose which ones you want to focus on. Since you are giving a speech, all of the elements of a speech need to be included (hook, introduction, body, conclusion)

NPR's This I Believe project has beautiful examples of people doing this exact thing (although in essay form). Here are some of their tips for writing what you believe- you can apply these same guidelines to your speech:

Tell a story about you: Be specific. Take your belief out of the ether and ground it in the events that have shaped your core values. Consider moments when belief was formed or tested or changed. Think of your own experience, work, and family, and tell of the things you know that no one else does. Your story need not be heart-warming or gut-wrenching—it can even be funny—but it should be real. Make sure your story ties to the essence of your daily life philosophy and the shaping of your beliefs.

Be brief: Your statement should be between 500 and 600 words.

Name your belief: If you can't name it in a sentence or two, your essay might not be about belief. Also, rather than writing a list, consider focusing on one core belief.

Be positive: Write about what you do believe, not what you don't believe. Avoid statements of religious dogma, preaching, or editorializing.

Be personal: Make your essay about you; speak in the first person. Avoid speaking in the editorial “we.” Tell a story from your own life; this is not an opinion piece about social ideals. Write in words and phrases that are comfortable for you to speak.

Make your speech authentic - I have attached a list of platitudes so do not fill it with platitudes! I have also attached a better-formatted description/instructions for this assignment.