Presentation Day

So today I had to deliver my informative speech in Public Speaking. Our assignment was to pick a human rights issue and inform the class about it in the manner of our choosing, so long as it was four minutes long. We had a sheet of various topics, amongst them, Hurricane Katrina. Me being the meteorology nerd that I am, I jumped on that topic. However, I was instructed that somebody else would be doing the same topic, so I needed to pick a human rights issue that wasn't similar to his.

Sunday rolled around, and I knew I [finally] needed to get some work done. After scrolling through various things that had gone on in the wake of the storm, I came across a horrifying human rights violation. A prison in New Orleans was under fire after all of its deputies abandoned prisoners--who had not even been formally charged for their crimes!--and left them to die in floodwaters. Not only that, they were violent, abusive, and cruel to the prisoners during the evacuation.

This was my topic. After 3 grueling hours of wording everything just right, I was content with my work and got it ready for presentation day.

Today finally rolled around, and the class was... small. Only 16 kids, a third of which were also presenting. They strolled into the class, all complaining of being nervous and afraid. Strangely, I wasn't. I was laughing and joking and helping the rest get over their nerves. I told them that I would purposelly trip and fall down during my presentation to loosen the atmosphere up. (They cheered me when I actually didn't.) They asked me what my "defense mechanism" for dealing with my anxieties was, and I replied, "Humor."

When it was my turn to present, I was given the timer. I put it to the side and didn't bother with it. Instead, I looked down once at my notes, and had a quick epiphany.

In elementary school, I used to write stories and poems every day during the English portion of the class day. When the teacher would ask for volunteers, I'd excitedly jump up and run to the front of the class, where I'd read my stories and leave the audience wanting more.

I decided that this was what I was going to do today. Inhaling deeply, I looked to my audience of 16 and proceeded to tell my story of horrors, abuse, violence, and misery. In my mind, I repeated, "I'm just reading my story. Just reading my story." I looked out to the students, and they were leaned forward in their desks, hanging onto my every word. When I went into how the prisoners were shot for attempting to escape, several of the girls actually gasped and were visibly shaken.

When my presentation was over, there was a long moment of silence before the class broke into applause. Not the generic applause done strictly for politeness, either. I grinned to myself as the students all said, "You kept me interested. You grabbed my attention, and you kept it."

The professor turned, looked me in the eye, and said, "Your words were so strong and vivid, and your tone matched your words. You made me feel like I was actually there, experiencing the terror the prisoners experienced. You have a gift, and I'm very impressed."

The only issue she had with my speech was how two of my points seemed to be the same thing, which I sort of had anticipated. Grinning even more, I sat back in my little square in the corner of the classroom and faded off into nobody again... but for four and a half minutes, I was the professional storyteller.

Outside of having a nasty hypoglycemia episode this afternoon, today couldn't have gone any better. And tomorrow starts my favorite month of the year, which makes today even better. To quote SpongeBob Squarepants, "I am a happy sponge!"

I'm going to play a little bit of Luigi's Mansion before calling it a night. There's only one more level left until I beat the game [for the fifth time]... And Luigi's gentle disposition reminds me of somebody special, which makes it even better.