Reflection on the 8th Annual Student Research and Writing Conference

As I mentioned before on a previous blog, I feel uncomfortable in social events, big or small, so it is no surprise that I felt extremely awkward and nervous in this event. On top of that, I had a panel along with four other students, scheduled for 1 pm on the topic of Carl Jung and his journal Memories, Dreams, Reflections. The panel was basically a resumed amalgamation of the power point presentations we gave in English Literature class and featured a moderator and four panelist consisting of one member from each group that gave a presentation that day in class. The power point showed quotes, points of interest and pictures of Carl Jung's journeys in many different places and countries. The panel was divided into 4 sections in total. First, we talked about North Africa and the USA; then I talked about Kenya and Uganda; next, we talked about India and last but not least we talked about Ravenna, Italy. At the end of the presentation we answered questions from the audience. It was about half an hour long so we each has 5 minutes to present our points and the last five were reserved for questions. This event made me really nervous, I have never done anything of the sort before. I was super uncomfortable at first and kept revising all my notes. Once the panel started and it was my turn to speak I was nervous but, as time went on I grew more comfortable in the stage. Nonetheless because of my inexperience with the microphone I keep looking to the side and my voice kept changing so it sounded distorted and all over the place. I also was to ashamed to look at the audience while I gave my part of the panel but, was totally fine doing it when others were speaking and at the questions segment. However, everyone did their best and I think the panel went smoothly. So congrats to the co hosts for their great job and I'm glad that is over with. That was not the only thing I saw at the conference. I also saw Marileyda Hernandez, a fellow classmate and co host, sing live on stage in the conference. She sang the song Stone Cold by Demi Lovato. Her singing was quite lovely to hear and nice distraction from the stress I felt. I also saw another panel from a different group which consisted of interpretive dance and music arranged by the students themselves. They did a good job and were really confident in the message they expressed to the audience. Although, one of them spoke their line really loudly behind my seat so I got scarred and almost jumped from my seat. Also, a side note, the night before the event I dream I arrived at the conference in my pajamas, probably my mind showing me how nervous I was. Other than that, the small portion I saw of the conference was enjoyable and I hope other people had fun and did a good job at their presentations.