Concluding the Adventures

Over the course of this semester, I have learned an abundance in my Public Speaking course taught by Mrs. Guarino.  In the beginning of the year, I knew very little about what this course was going to offer and how it would affect the rest of my life. I can honestly say that this course has impacted my life more than I could have ever imagined. I did not realize how big of a part public speaking played in my life until now. I use it everywhere; in all my classes, when speaking to adults, when trying to convince my parents to do something. Public speaking is all around me and I now know how to properly convince and persuade others using a sensible tone of voice and the correct amount of ethos, logos and pathos.
I have to say, in the beginning of the year, I knew practically nothing about public speaking. The only thing I knew was to stand still and make eye contact. Well, that is part of it, but there is so much more that I hadn't learned before, even just those two statements. What I now know about those two "rules": When speaking, you need to stand planted with your feet shoulder width apart. Generally, you can stay still but controlled movements to emphasize a point are fine as well. You just must make sure not to look fidgety and nervous. That can make you lose credibility. When making eye contact, you do not want to stare at one person in particular. That can make them uncomfortable. You want to scan the audience making sure that you are never looking down at your feet. You also must not read off your notes like an essay. That will bore the audience. I learned all this and much, much more.
  In the beginning of the year, I hoped that taking this course would help me become less nervous when speaking in front of others. I would always get really scared to speak in front of teachers and other peers. Well, I can happily say that my goal, of being less terrified to speak in front of others, has been achieved. Recently, I have found myself volunteering to go first and participating more in other classes. I really enjoyed taking a class that will actually be able to help me in my daily life.
To be completely honest, once this class started, I was very scared of having to do a lot of writing. I did not want to do a 500 word blog post every single week. But as time passed, each blog post would get easier and easier. This class really helped me improve my writing as well as my speaking. Getting feedback from Mrs. Guarino and all of my peers really helped me figure out my own, personal style of writing. Writing every week allowed me to progress and move forward, figure out my flaws and mistakes and move past them. Another main skill I learned in this class was memorization. This was very important for me to learn because I have a lot of difficulty with memorizing everything; numbers, formulas, equations, definitions, names, dates, ect. Learning new ways of memorizing writing doesn't only help me with speeches, but applies to many other subjects as well. I hope that in the future, I will always remember the basic techniques of memorization, such as recording yourself and then listening to the recording on repeat.
I would just like to thank you, Mrs. Guarino, for dealing with our class for the past four months. If I was a teacher, I would not have been able to do it (especially with all the differing opinions and certain people who just have debating/arguing in their blood). You really have taught all of us so much and these are lessons that will stay with us forever. Thank you and have a great rest of the year!

The best link ever: http://cheshireacademypublicspeakingfall2015.blogspot.com

Final Ted Talk

http://youtu.be/kntUOREW1jw

How I can Improve My Ted Talk

So far I have a rough draft written of our last project in public speaking, our Ted Talks. It is a very rough draft that needs to be edited and I can make a lot of changes to make the project better.
First, I need to edit all the spelling and grammar to ensure that everything is correct. I am planning to record myself reading the speech, and then put the pictures and video into iMovie. I need to correctly cite all of my sources and put that in a slide at the end of my Ted Talk. I also need to find many more pictures, and hopefully graphs, to put into my final project. I need to find correct graphs that suitably prove my point.
I also need to find suitable, reliable facts and quotes that help show that college is not the only option. I need to figure out the visible aspects of my Ted Talk. Like the fade in, fade out, transition into pictures and back into the video. I need to make sure that the entire video ends up running smoothly together, and looks final.
I have a lot of things that need to be completed but I have the basic draft that allows for me to know what I need to work on and what I have to do. Overall, I think that my speech was pretty good. I need to work on certain aspects of it but it is getting better as the process continues. I need to plan better and make sure that I don't wait until the last minute to create the final product. To ensure that I do this, I will make sure that I use the class time we receive wisely. I will try to make this as professional a Ted Talk as I can.
So far, this has been a really fun project that I have thoroughly enjoyed. I love Ted Talks and I am exuberantly excited to recreate this experience. I hope that my final project captures the essence of a good Ted talk. I will work very hard to make sure that this project is the best I can do!

http://www.unstuck.com/how-we-procrastinate.html

The Myth of College Being Necessary

"You need to go to college, get a good job and have a family of your own." Have you ever felt like this was the outline of your life? Something that defined you even before you knew what a "major" was? Have you ever felt like you need a college degree to be successful? Well I'm here to say stop stressing, because that is not always the case. If getting a degree is your dream, that's great, but people need to know that is not the only option out there. The loans and debt that one has after finishing college can be overwhelming and you are not even guaranteed a job afterwards. And I'm not saying college isn't useful. College can be a fantastic experience,  but I'm just saying that doesn't have to be your only choice. I'm here to help you in making that decision.
The applying process for colleges is very stressful. Having interviews, writing essays, visiting schools can all be a lot for you to handle, and it builds up. All while juggling junior and senior years of high school. And many have done it before, handled the applying process with high school, but just because it's what most people do, that doesn't mean you have to. Now, it's a lot harder to get into colleges than it was 30 years ago. This may also affect your final decision.
About 20-30 years ago, going to college and getting a major generally guaranteed you a job. But present day that is not always the case. The requirements for jobs has been raised and over time, the amount of college graduates that are unemployed has dramatically increased, while students graduating with a high school degree have started to become more employed now than ever before. This makes it slightly easier to get jobs with just a high school degree. Some jobs that one can have without a college degree are; an administrative assistance, appliance repairer, bookkeeper, carpenter and more.
Another problem for many people is financial debt. If you are already in a large amount of debt, college may be something that you really need to think about. "69% of 2013 senior [college] graduates left school with an average student loan debt of $28,400, but debt ranged from  $18,656 to over $30,000." As you can see, colleges cost a lot of money and a lot of walk needs to be put I. To pay off all of the debt. There is always financial aid but sometimes that still is not enough. After college, you need to be able to pay off your debt so you need to consider if you will be able to do that once your four years are up. If you will not be able to, this can add a lot of stress into your life as a young adult.
         Although college is great, the process of applying can be stressful, you are not even guaranteed a job after you receive your degree, and you can graduate having to face the pressure of student loans and debt hit you afterward. Sometimes you need to think to yourself, is it really worth it?

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/11/13/average-student-loan-debt-hits-30-000
http://www.careercast.com/jobs-rated/20-great-jobs-without-college-degree