I think that I have grown and changed as a person in this class. By that I mean, that I have almost come over my fear of public speaking. I used to be an extremely fast and quiet talker, now I am able to talk a lot slower, and have more confidence when I am speaking to the public, such as when we are presenting a topic to the class in a live presentation. Plus, because I have become comfortable with talking slower, I am able to have a better-paced narration for our digital products. I also think that I have changed in the way I use technology. I was never able to create anything better than a keynote with tiny pictures and bullet points, and now, I am able to have narration, large images with movement, and have them put together to create a movie-like presentation that could actually entertain someone.
The event that I have done this year so far that makes me proud is our Lincoln-Douglas debates. It makes me proud because I had practically written the script myself, had a great group, and I worked really hard on my public speaking skills, and it all paid off. Even though we lost by three audience votes, it felt like a victory because I accomplished everything I wanted to, and that is why it is what makes me most proud.
I think that the most challenging thing that I have done this year so far is improving my public speaking skills for my Lincoln-Douglas debate. I wanted to show everybody that I could be a good public speaker, so I had to work on each section as soon as I finished it, so I could be really prepared. Also, I hadn’t been able to practice in front of a big crowd, and everyone was going to be there when we presented our debate, so I had to slow down enough to the point where I felt like I was trying to explain something that was difficult to understand, even though it was words and information everyone knew. That is what made it a challenge. In the end though, I was able to do it.
My favorite products that I did were my visual re-creations for The Red Badge of Courage. They were my favorite because I had worked really hard on them, and I think I showed the metaphors really well. Also, I had wanted to prove myself with this project, so I think I had worked hard, and it showed when we presented them.
My hopes and expectations for second semester are that I will be able to make a great enough product that will make it on to the class website. I want to have a product on the class website because all of the better ones go on the site. I do not like to disappoint people, so if one of my products did make it up there, I would feel proud of myself, and feel like other people are proud of me as well. I am going to try my best to create a product like that for next semester.
