Commemorative speech structure and delivery techniques

I. Introduction A. What makes someone a hero? B. My mother is my hero. C. My mother is an archetype and metaphor that is relevant to all of society D. My mother is intelligent, understanding, and devoted. II.Intelligent A. Book Smart B. Worldly C. Quick-Thinker III.Understanding A. Treats children like equal people 1.Takes our problems seriously 2.Gives us good, non-preaching advice 3.Gives us the freedom to make our own choices 4.Supports the decisions that we make 5.Is still always there to catch us if we fall IV. Devoted A. Puts our needs before her own B. Puts our wants before her own C. Would risk her life for ours V. Conclusion A.My mother is intelligent, understanding, and devoted B.She is an example of an ideal mother

What makes a person a hero? The image that often comes to mind is that of police officers, fire-fighters, and doctors; people who save lives are heroes automatically in our society. When I look into my heart to find the definition of a hero, a much closer-to-home image is prominent: an image of warmth and comfort-- my mother. One may wonder in what way my mother stacks up against rescue workers that are on call 24 hours a day to save the lives of strangers. I believe that my mother represents something far more essential to the very existence of every life on this earth; she is a metaphor for the care the universe gives to its child. "If you knew how great is a mother's love," Wendy tells Peter Pan in James Barrie's famous story, "you would have no fear." My mother's ways of showing how she is intelligent, understanding, and devoted to her family have instilled in me that fearless sense of being loved. Ever since I was little, I have looked to my mother as a source for knowledge of every kind. Before I had even started school, I remember thinking that my mother must have memorized every word of the expansive encyclopedia set that sat upon the shelves way above my little head. My mother knew all the important answers from why the sky was blue to why bedtime was at 8pm. When I started schooling, she was always an incredible tutor and guide to my studies. Increasingly as I matured, I noticed that she wasn't only book smart, but also worldly; my mother understood how things worked and knew how to best work within the system. She knew how to get things done, and she knew how to get them done right the first time, even in the case of an emergency. When a quick decision had to be made, my mother easily stepped up to the plate with confidence and got results that were made to last. My mother has always been understanding of her family and children right down to the core. Unlike many parents, she didn't see us as existing purely to be what she wanted us to be. She saw us as equals, as real people, even as children. Every problem we came to her with was treated seriously, and she put real thought into finding solutions. She would give us advice that came from the heart, without being overly-preaching. I was always given room to make my own decisions based upon her advice, but not limited to her choices alone. She would trust me and my other family members to have taken enough out of her every day teachings that we would make good decisions when the time came, and she would support those decisions as best she could. But, as a good mother always should, she was there with a safety net in case we fell. Even if she had to bail us out of a mess we'd created by going against her advice, she never said "I told you so" or punished us unfairly. An always devoted mother, our needs always came before her own. When times were tough on our family, the things we needed were always a priority, and only looking back do I realize how she sacrificed herself to keep us well. Even when things were a little better and everyone's needs were easily met, my mother would, in most circumstances, even put our wants before her own. As long as it was reasonable, one of the kids' activity requests would take precedence over the movie or other outing she would have rather done for herself. She always turned what would be fun for the kids alone in most families into family fun time. Beyond the sacrifices of comfort, my mother would actually risk her own life for the life of a family member. In the cases of fires and assault, she was not only the ever-standing safety net, but a safety shield and rescuer as well. A teacher, an advisor, a comforter, a rescuer-- even a savior--my mother is all of these things, and will always remain in my mind the vision of a true hero. An example of an ideal parent for any child, my mother embodies the eternal adage: "Mother is the name of god on the lips of children."