Spoken word poetry: look up

http://youtu.be/Z7dLU6fk9QY

Reflection on Monologues

I think that all of the monologues were effective. The one that was most effective to me was Mi's (I think thats how you spell her name). This was the most effective to me because she used a lot of emphasis and she memorized it very well. This was also effective because I know how hard Mi worked on it and she played the part very well. I don't know Mi very well, but I know she is nothing like the character that she played in her monologue. She got into character very easily and was able to become a completely different person just for this monologue.
One thing I think I did well with my monologue was being serious. Even though it was hard for me to memorize it, I tried as hard as I could be to be serious. The first take that I had, I was smiling because I was so excited that I had memorized my monologue for the first time. But after that I got pretty serious and was able to stay focused. The most difficult thing for me was definitely memorizing. I think this was the hardest because I literally cannot memorize anything. I wasn't nervous about going in front of the class, I was just nervous about memorizing it. I knew that would be the hardest thing for me going into this. But I think I did a good job of memorizing it, over all. After I got it one time, it just came more naturally and I was able to do it again. I think I could have put more emotion into it but I was more interested and focused on being serious and memorizing it so that is something I should probably work on.

Memorized monologue(:

http://youtu.be/DoxbEXVE9Wo

Andrew Fezza

On Thursday night, Andrew Fezza spoke in the basement of JJ White. His posters of his models and clothing were all around the room and he also had mannequins modeling his masterpieces. He started speaking at around 6:05 and finished at 7. He spoke for way longer than 15 minutes. He talked about how he grew up and went to Cheshire academy and how he went to Boston College and was originally going pre med. One of his good friends was into fashion designing and another one of his friends moms is the reason he became interested in designing clothing. He said he never really thought of being a fashion designer while growing up. He told us about how he struggled and had some times where he wanted to give up on designing clothing but pushed through and is happy that he stuck with it. After he told us about his life he asked if anyone had questions. Literally everyone in the room asked a question and made it so much longer. There were so many people in the room that I could hardly even see the guy. His wife was there with him and our headmaster, Mr. Nozell, was also there listening. I didn’t really like it because it was boring for me because I’m not into art or fashion designing or anything like that. I did like hearing about his life and the turning points of his career. It gave me a better outlook on fashion designing and how long the process is. He told us that it takes him 8 months to design one season of clothing. He is currently working on winter of 2015 I’m pretty sure. He seemed pretty laid back but he said that he was really nervous about speaking in front of us and that a lot of things at Cheshire Academy have changed. Someone asked him what his favorite memory from Cheshire Academy was and he said the smoking section and that they had a lot more freedom. I was going to take a selfie with him but Caroline and I just took one together instead.

Conceptual Concepts

          In the first few weeks of class we covered a lot of concepts and key facts. We learned things from the way you stand to the way you project your voice. One of the most important things I learned was that I need to open my mouth more and project my voice to the audience. Another thing I learned was to make eye contact with the audience. This is important because it shows the audience that you aren't just reading off of the paper, you know what you're saying and you're well prepared. Another thing is that you need to use tones in your voice. When reading the monologues we were like actors and actresses. We got to play a different person and act just like them. We used tones in our voices to keep the audience interested and not make them fall asleep. Also, we learned how to relax before giving a speech. If you're too nervous then you will speed up your words and you will mess up easier. When you're relaxed you go slower and it is easier. All of these things are important because they help to make a perfect speech even more perfect. If you have an amazing speech written but don't do all of these things, then your speech has a lower value. It doesn't matter whats written on the paper necessarily. It matters how you present it. All of these things we learned will help us to a better presentation to go along with the speech.
          Even though no one pointed it out, I realized that I am opening up more and becoming less shy. Not only in this public speaking class but also in my other classes. This was one of my goals. Typically I get really nervous to speak in front of any group of people even my friends or family. But now I can't shut up. I love talking in front of them and expressing my ideas. Even though we've only been in class for a short amount of time, I feel like it has already helped me with my public speaking abilities and this will help me a lot in the long run. It was one of my goals to not be as shy and to project my voice more and WANT to go make a presentation in class and just be more confident about it. This will help me in my career later in life being a business woman, making presentations in front of a company board or my co workers. This class has taught me a lot so far and I can't wait to learn more to help me with my everyday life.

Songs:
1. Shake it Off Taylor Swift http://youtu.be/nfWlot6h_JM I chose this song because it is a good way to look at life. It's important to ignore the rude things that other people say about you to make yourself a stronger person. Taylor swift shows that she has heard some bad comments about herself and she chooses to be the better person and look past it. She focuses on who's important to her and who's opinion matters. This is a message that speaks to me and helps to form a good mentality or way of looking at life.

2. Who Says Selena Gomez  http://youtu.be/BzE1mX4Px0I I chose this song because it also has a good meaning. It basically just says who says you're not beautiful and a bunch of other things that people say you're not. It makes the audience feel like they're important and beautiful and perfect and that they shouldn't let anyone tell them otherwise.

3. The Climb Miley Cyrus http://youtu.be/NG2zyeVRcbs I chose this song for many reasons. Miley is someone I looked up to my whole life. She taught me life lessons through her tv show and movie. She wrote this when she was around my age and I can connect to this song because Most girls at this age go through the same things and can relate to it. This song teaches you that there are always going to be things pushing you down in life but you need to be strong enough to overcome them and get over it and move on with your life and be happy.

While taking this class I hope to achieve a lot of things academically. I want to become a better public speaker and not be so nervous and shy in front of large groups. I also want this class to make me aware of my abilities that I have to project my voice and be loud. I hope that this class helps me to become better at making presentations in my other classes and be more creative with all of my assignments.

First post