I was assigned speeches quite frequently in high school, so when I think back on my public speaking history, I remember some successes and a whole lot of pain.
One speech that I gave for Public Speaking was a sales pitch, and a critique I received afterward was that I used my hands too much to emphasize my points. Some people said I flailed my arms when I was trying to make a point I was excited about, or I would fidget and wring my hands. Others said I’d flip my hair from side to side, and fix it constantly (it used to be long enough to do that without looking dumb).
According to the comments made on my rhetorical artifact speech, though, I had a “strong and confident presence.” That was nice to hear, especially considering my hands were shaking so badly I couldn’t get my powerpoint into presentation mode. So, I guess that’s a strength I should “capitalize” on.
As far as weaknesses go, I demonstrated mine pretty well on Wednesday. I rely quite heavily on “um,” “so,” and “alright,” verbal fillers that are only made worse by the fact that I talk too fast. Even though it was rocky, I think the exercise on Wednesday really helped bring attention to some of the useless things I say speaking in front of an audience. That exercise also made me realize how connected verbal fillers are to the rate at which I speak, because I definitely slowed myself down to be more aware of those trip-ups and run out the clock.
I thought that the 40-second stretch without saying “um” or anything was really telling, and I’ve been trying to think about in normal conversations with other people. It’s really not as effective in mundane interactions, though, because I don’t feel nervous or fall back on the verbal fillers.
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Thursday, October 22, 2015
The Bra: Burn it or Blog about it
Although women's fashion is constantly changing as a whole, the evolution of the brassiere from the 1950's to the present reflect both the shifting concept of a 'perfect' female body and feminist reactions against societal traditions.
This shift in style can be traced through the iconic female celebrities of each decade leading up to the early 2000's, and was likely the result of changing societal attitudes towards "free love" and plastic surgery.
The first paragraph will talk about the 1950's, Marilyn Monroe, "The Sweater Girls", and how postwar attitudes affected women's bra styles. The second, will be about the 1960's, with Twiggy and the 'no bra' era that accompanied the Sexual Revolution. The 1970's shows the first shifts towards bigger breasts as a result of the recent legalization/refinement of breast enhancement surgery...I still need to find a bra that represents this. Apparently there was a "nipple bra," which is pretty weird, popularized by Farrah Fawcett.
The 1980's and 1990's become a little obscure, though, because there is a distinct return to older undergarment fashion trends, with Madonna and her cone bra, and Cyndi Lauper and the corset-like basque. I was thinking of incorporating the emergence of Victoria’s Secret in the 1990’s, and how their bras have become increasingly more padded and inclined toward larger breasts.
I was also going to note that the 1980’s were the time of the shoulder pads, so breasts were accentuated to soften that rather masculine look. This was the decade of “power dressing,” whether it was for women in the workplace or in sports, women were dressing in an exaggerated way.
Rudimentary Sources:
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Potential Paradigm Shifts: Bra or Naw?
Although Mrs. Kramer actually mentioned tattoos as a paradigm shift in class, I like the idea of writing about it.
20 years ago, tattoos were designated primarily for outcasts and were commonly associated with jailbirds.Tattoos, the artistry of the rebel or the badass, made people wary of those who had them.
Since then, tattoos have become dramatically more popular as both fashion statements and expressions of self.
I was asked yesterday, because it was my birthday, if I would “finally be getting a tattoo” now that I’m 18. This type of inquiry indicates how tattoos have become a rite of passage and provides an intriguing contrast with their history.
Overall, a strong essay could be written about how the decision to “get inked” reflects our generation’s need to express itself. I read a lot about the importance of ‘being yourself’ and making the world see and appreciate us for our identities. It needs developing.
I prefer my second idea, wherein I would like to remark on the evolution of women’s brassiere styles, and write an essay about how they reflect changing views about women’s bodies over time.
I suppose I would begin my essay in the 1950’s, with the cone bra, and discuss how this bra disguised the true shape of the female breast, and what that meant. I was also going to analyze women’s bra styles through the 1960’s and 1970’s, wherein bras were designed to appear flat chested, and so on until the present, where it’s really hard to find a bra that isn’t padded like crazy, but also isn’t granny beige.
As I thought more critically about this topic, I found more information about the gradual sexualization of the female chest over time, and how it has led to tension about breastfeeding in public and “freeing the nipple.”
It’s easier to support the paradigm shift in bra fashion using actual advertisements and product lines as proof. Furthermore, there have been many studies done on the way society portrays women and their bodies in the media that I could draw on as sources.
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Antisocial and Ready to Mingle
“Branch out!”
“Make friends!”
“Leave your comfort zone!”
As a freshman, I’ve heard these cliches alarmingly frequently over the past weeks. Through all of the orientations and meetings, these ideas were stressed the most. Essentially, if something scares you, do it.
After receiving this advice for the millionth time, I chuckled at the irony of “The Flight from Conversation.” Chapter 2 describes the havoc technology is wreaking on our social skills, encumbering how “connectedness” has changed our idea of civic duty.
I connected Chapter 2 with my life in the elevator. Only in an elevator is it acceptable to ignore the stranger next to you because...you’re locked in a metal box and could plunge to your deaths together. So, why not ask their name?
No, instead, I’m texting my mom about the care package she’s sending me tomorrow.
I stopped using my phone in the elevator after an incident in which, after a silent descent, a guy said “Have a good day,” out of the blue. I never saw his face, too absorbed in my mother’s concerned and garbled texts, and didn’t say “You too,” because I was shocked that someone spoke to me in the elevator.
Chapter 2 interested me because of how it presented the paradox of technological connectedness and related it back to civic behavior. Instead of describing teenagers as lemmings, it simply addressed our natural instinct to be social, the fear of rejection that inhibits intermingling, and how technology satisfies these conflicting inclinations.
Since this reading, I’ve become painfully aware of how inexperienced I am at chitchatting. Before The Flight from Conversation, I was scared of the “moments in which we hesitate and stutter and go silent” (RCL, page 17). I thought that people thought I was simple when social awkwardness reared its ugly head, but this chapter made me realize how integral it is to making friends. I realized that our civic duty was once ‘putting ourselves out there,’ and that taking a risk for the sake of standing up for oneself, or even just making small talk, is worth it. I learned that everyone feels clumsy in new social situations and that this mutual discomfort builds trust between potential friends. Or it doesn’t, and you ride the elevator in silence afterward, but you tried.
I couldn’t have read this chapter at a more pertinent time. I never felt strongly on this topic before being encouraged to connect in the big pond of Penn State, but this analysis has encouraged me to participate in my community. Considering “community” a flexible term, I now consider it ‘civic’ to try and connect in mundane conversation because I don’t like being censored by cell phone vibrations and chimes.
“Make friends!”
“Leave your comfort zone!”
As a freshman, I’ve heard these cliches alarmingly frequently over the past weeks. Through all of the orientations and meetings, these ideas were stressed the most. Essentially, if something scares you, do it.
After receiving this advice for the millionth time, I chuckled at the irony of “The Flight from Conversation.” Chapter 2 describes the havoc technology is wreaking on our social skills, encumbering how “connectedness” has changed our idea of civic duty.
I connected Chapter 2 with my life in the elevator. Only in an elevator is it acceptable to ignore the stranger next to you because...you’re locked in a metal box and could plunge to your deaths together. So, why not ask their name?
No, instead, I’m texting my mom about the care package she’s sending me tomorrow.
I stopped using my phone in the elevator after an incident in which, after a silent descent, a guy said “Have a good day,” out of the blue. I never saw his face, too absorbed in my mother’s concerned and garbled texts, and didn’t say “You too,” because I was shocked that someone spoke to me in the elevator.
Chapter 2 interested me because of how it presented the paradox of technological connectedness and related it back to civic behavior. Instead of describing teenagers as lemmings, it simply addressed our natural instinct to be social, the fear of rejection that inhibits intermingling, and how technology satisfies these conflicting inclinations.
Since this reading, I’ve become painfully aware of how inexperienced I am at chitchatting. Before The Flight from Conversation, I was scared of the “moments in which we hesitate and stutter and go silent” (RCL, page 17). I thought that people thought I was simple when social awkwardness reared its ugly head, but this chapter made me realize how integral it is to making friends. I realized that our civic duty was once ‘putting ourselves out there,’ and that taking a risk for the sake of standing up for oneself, or even just making small talk, is worth it. I learned that everyone feels clumsy in new social situations and that this mutual discomfort builds trust between potential friends. Or it doesn’t, and you ride the elevator in silence afterward, but you tried.
I couldn’t have read this chapter at a more pertinent time. I never felt strongly on this topic before being encouraged to connect in the big pond of Penn State, but this analysis has encouraged me to participate in my community. Considering “community” a flexible term, I now consider it ‘civic’ to try and connect in mundane conversation because I don’t like being censored by cell phone vibrations and chimes.
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Travel Blog: A Nomadic Cliché
Choosing a passion blog topic was difficult.
Don't get me wrong, I like many things. BUT, every time I would think of a blog theme, I couldn't imagine having enough to say to keep it alive for this entire semester.
After much thought, the only idea that interested me was travelling. I love the idea of a travel blog and, what a coincidence, I love to travel. I consider traveling to be one of my interests and a topic on which I could articulate thoughts and opinions worth expressing on the internet. That being said, I will stick to this theme and explain two potential ways of presenting it in my passion blog.
1.) The travel idea first struck me as an experience blog, in which I would describe the events of trips I've taken in the past. This blog would rehash the thoughts, experiences, highlights, and low-lights of the trips to Europe, South and Central America that I've taken in the recent past. My clumsy, sarcastic, and absent minded self has made for some rather amusing stories as I've traveled abroad, and could make for an interesting and long winded story that encumbers a passion of mine.
2) I also found that I could make a travel blog about the future. This blog would be more along the lines of a "bucket list," in which, in each entry, I write about a new place (varying in specificity; country, city, event, etc.) to which I would like to travel when I'm rich and famous. I am definitely favoring this mode of presentation because it would allow me to be more creative in my blog posts and also be the excuse I need to research and record the places I want to see before I kick it (the bucket, that is.)
Don't get me wrong, I like many things. BUT, every time I would think of a blog theme, I couldn't imagine having enough to say to keep it alive for this entire semester.
After much thought, the only idea that interested me was travelling. I love the idea of a travel blog and, what a coincidence, I love to travel. I consider traveling to be one of my interests and a topic on which I could articulate thoughts and opinions worth expressing on the internet. That being said, I will stick to this theme and explain two potential ways of presenting it in my passion blog.
1.) The travel idea first struck me as an experience blog, in which I would describe the events of trips I've taken in the past. This blog would rehash the thoughts, experiences, highlights, and low-lights of the trips to Europe, South and Central America that I've taken in the recent past. My clumsy, sarcastic, and absent minded self has made for some rather amusing stories as I've traveled abroad, and could make for an interesting and long winded story that encumbers a passion of mine.
2) I also found that I could make a travel blog about the future. This blog would be more along the lines of a "bucket list," in which, in each entry, I write about a new place (varying in specificity; country, city, event, etc.) to which I would like to travel when I'm rich and famous. I am definitely favoring this mode of presentation because it would allow me to be more creative in my blog posts and also be the excuse I need to research and record the places I want to see before I kick it (the bucket, that is.)
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