Dieciocho Minutos y Veintitrés Segundos (Eighteen Minutes and Twenty Three Seconds)

This past week in the Independent Study and Mentorship program has caused late nights and lots of nerves. Although this week was action packed and stressful, I made major strides in my ISM journey. This week ISM, students gave their Original Work and Reflection Speech, an eighteen to twenty one minute presentation where they reflect on this year so far and share about their Original Work process.

Thursday, February 15th, was the day I gave my presentation. Leading up to this day, I practiced and practiced my presentation, making changes as I went. By the time Thursday came around, I felt prepared yet still had butterflies in my stomach. Immediately after my presentation I felt a weight come off my shoulders. I just had completed an eighteen minute and twenty three second speech! At the beginning of this year, giving a five minute speech sounded like the worst thing in the world. After this long presentation, I feel as if I had a major turning point in my life as a professional and student. Presenting for this amount of time is something that I never would have imagined doing a year ago. If you asked me last year if I was going to give a presentation longer than five minutes, I would of laughed. Looking back, my presentation was successful and I feel really good about it.

Moving forward, I will continue to work on my Final Product. After completing the Final Product Proposal, I have started preparing and planning how to make my project the best it can be. I am excited to continue going along on my ISM journey.