Well, the long-anticipated talk in front of the students has come and gone! I thought all of you would be interested in hearing how it went. For a little over a month, I had been nervous (maybe for no reason at all) and I had been preparing what I would say through various blog posts here letting you know the topics I might hit on. When it came down to it, I mentioned none of it. It is unnerving to stand up in front of a presentation hall speaking to 30 students each wondering what in the world you are doing there. It’s one of the reasons why I could probably never be a teacher, myself, but I have so much adoration for those that had me as a student. I wasn’t perfect. I spent 70% of class day dreaming wondering what my life would be like after college, after high school. If my professors allowed me to munch in class, I was a happy girl. We don’t give our teachers and professors ENOUGH credit and I will always stand behind that statement and tell that to every young student I come across in the future that tells me their teacher just “doesn’t get them.” They do. It’s just you that doesn’t understand your teacher and that they are a human being just like you.
As I stood in front of that hall offering what I had to say, I felt confident. Then I felt uncomfortable hearing the sound of my own voice and insecure that I was rambling. That impending fear that I had probably dawned on the students and that’s when I kind of knew I was dunzo. The speaking engagement lasted 10 minutes. I didn’t get to say all that I wanted to say, but that’s okay. After the talk Henry told me that I was probably being too hard on myself as I sometimes am. These students, after all, were very close to having their summer. By being in this 3:40 PM class, I was taking them away from their happy hours and the rare Seattle sunshine. It didn’t matter who was standing in front of them, they just didn’t want to be there probably. So I will say – students, being dismissed by you is not the worst rejection I have gone through in life, but maybe somewhere in my ramblings you heard my advice about being kind to others, working hard throughout college by staying busy, and taking everything you hear from your professors to heart. Or maybe you didn’t – to which I will just say GOOD LUCK! You will soon learn eventually. Also, my introductory joke only got some stifled giggles. Ouch! Looks like I could never be a stand-up comedian either.
