What Made My Day

Today looked like it was going to be a pretty standard day: wake up, go to class, do some homework, go to work, go to small group, go to bed….just like the rest of my Thursdays this semester.

Then I had a super awesome moment with one of my teachers that made my day and changed my life.

In my music theory class, we didn’t have anymore material to cover, so we had an open mic day.  My teacher, another student, and I played guitar in front of the class.  (This was the first time I had played guitar for strangers.)  I was pretty nervous going into it because my professor is wildly good at guitar and the other student might be even better.  I pressed on and played my dinky little songs (Silent Night, Soft Kitty, and Monster Mash), and messed them up horribly.  I was pretty upset, but not depressed.  I laughed it off.

When I was on my way out of the music building, I saw one of my favorite teachers and I open my arms for a hug and cried, “It was horrible!!!”  “What was horrible?”  So, I told her, and without any sympathy at all but with total love, she said to me “Your students are going to make a lot of mistakes and mess up a lot…Does that mean they did horribly or that they are horrible?”

Silence…mind blown!

While trying to pick up the pieces of my mind, I simply said, “I guess not,” and moved on with the rest of my day.

I will always hold on to what she said.  Lesson: the golden rule and its converse are both true.  Don’t be too hard on yourself.

So the next thing that blew my mind came while procrastinating on Facebook.  Someone…don’t remember who…posted this:

Now, I usually don’t repost this kind of thing because there’s no point in posting a picture of words when you can just post words.  That’s what Pinterest is for.

But this…I think it perfectly modeled what my teacher said to me today.  Give yourself credit.  Give others credit.  Beauty is hard to find when you’re hard on yourself.  That’s not nearly as eloquent as I would like it to be, but I feel like there is real value in realizing for yourself that you are awesome and special and beautiful despite your mistakes and inproficiencies.

Just thought I’d share that with you.  I feel like if I didn’t, it might have been tucked away in the back of my mind, and I may forget about it.

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Your turn!

I hope you’re doing well:

If you are, tell me why.

If you aren’t, tell me why.

What do you think about what my teacher said?

Arts Short #2

Hello you!  Look how awesome you are today!

Today’s post is a continuation of my arts series on the blog post by Lisa Phillips, http://blog.artsusa.org/2012/11/26/the-top-10-skills-children-learn-from-the-arts/

To see more of this series click here.

The second part of Lisa’s post is this:

2. Confidence – The skills developed through theater, not only train you how to convincingly deliver a message, but also build the confidence you need to take command of the stage. Theater training gives children practice stepping out of their comfort zone and allows them to make mistakes and learn from them in rehearsal. This process gives children the confidence to perform in front of large audiences.

I believe that this is applicable in several ways.  The first thing I think of when reading this is being a teenager, and therefore knowing the habits of teenagers.  The ultimate goal is to look cool.  No risks are taken.  Making a fool of oneself is not an option. One is hyper-sensitive to being laughed at.  What to do…what to do…

It’s been my personal thought that the best way to avoid this (or at least reduce it) is to teach silliness and imagination as a habit at a young age.  No ideas are shot down.  Inhibition is not an option.  Wild abandon is the ultimate goal.  (What an idealist I am!!!)

So theater…in high school I took a theater class.  I really wanted to try.  I wanted to learn.  I wanted to act….but theater isn’t an independent activity, and when you are forced to rely on the enthusiasm of teenagers, you don’t get very far.  Theater in high school was a waste of time for me because it was impossible to access people’s creativity.  (HUGE IMPORTANT NOTE: This is not me saying that theater is not valuable in high school.  This is me saying it’s not valuable for teenagers who are taught that being silly in front of your peers is not okay!  This is the problem that needs to be fixed.  This is why we need arts in school!)

Confidence (like creativity) is a product of the arts, not a prerequisite.  Do you want to have confidence in the things you do?  Do you want to write, speak, perform, work, play, and love with confidence?  Do you want future generations to do things with confidence?  If so, then support and participate in the arts!

As a Toastmaster, I could not read this without catching on to “convincingly deliver a message,” “take command of the stage,” “step out of their comfort zone,” “make mistakes and learn,” and “large audiences.”

I am constantly hearing from people, “I can’t speak in public,” “Large audiences intimidate me,” “Public speaking makes me uncomfortable,” etc.

Isn’t this what Toastmasters is out to fix!

Why is it that when I tell people about Toastmasters, a public speaking club, that they would rather run away from it that toward it?  Toastmasters produce confidence; they don’t judge people for not having it.  It shows what kind of nonchalant and apathetic society we face every day when people expect to be judged!

Imagine the kind of world we would live in if people weren’t so intimidated by their own imagination!

Be a pioneer and move to that world!

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Talk to me!

Tell me about something you’re intimidated by.

Tell me about a time confidence got you far.

Bloom!

So, parallel with the story of my life recently, the thing I wanted to do Sunday (write this post), isn’t getting done until today (Tuesday).

Reason?  Last two weeks of school!!!  To be sure, posts will be more frequent when I’m done with this semester.

As mentioned, in a previous post, I had a speech last Tuesday. (That’s a full week ago, people!  I’m so behind!) I did a speech using my Black Friday Baby, my super-duper flip board, the first page of which looked like this:

And let me tell you, I had a blast doing this speech (and it wasn’t just because of my flip board.

I had so much fun because I was talking about something I loved.  I felt like a professional speaker!

I would like to walk you through the speech.  (Maybe one day I’ll record my speeches so you can see them, too!

“I’m going to say two words, after which I want you all to give a collective ‘oh no, not again’ kind of sigh.  Are you ready?

“Bloom’s…Taxonomy…”

*At this point the collective sigh thing really did happen which made me very happy.*

“Madame Toastmaster, fellow Toastmasters, and honored guests, now you know what it’s like to be an education major at App State.

“Bloom’s Taxonomy is a way to guide children through learning by having them perform a series of actions on the information they are learning…SNORE! Well, as I was snoring with my classmates one day, I woke up and realized something…

“As educated people we all know what it’s like to be forced to learn something that we really don’t care about…but what about the things we do care about?

“Now, I may be young, and I may be an idealist, but it seems to make sense to me to use a proven method of learning to pursue the things I’m passionate about…and this is where Bloom’s Taxonomy comes in.

      “Bloom’s Taxonomy is usually depicted using a pyramid with 6 layers.  Each layer is assigned a verb or action to be performed on the information.

      “The first layer is the most basic, ‘Knowing.”

       “For this action, we ask our students questions like ‘What?’ and ‘How much?’  We have them define and describe.

       “Now, my passion is children, so if I used this part of Bloom’s Taxonomy to pursue learning about children, I’d say ‘I know my brother is a child, [pointing] you, you, you, you, all of you, and I are not children, and the jury is still out on Justin Bieber.

“The next layer is Understanding.  With this we ask our students questions like ‘What does this mean?’ and

‘What would happen if…?’ We tell them to explain and give an example.

“When I understand children I say there’s a difference between a fourth grader and a fifth grader while there isn’t much of a difference between a twenty-six year-old and a twenty-seven year-old. I talk about there capacity to learn

“The next layer is ‘Applying’

“Applying is like getting into the socks and shoes of your information.

“We’re going to do an activity to practice applying with children.

“I’m going to act like I’m 14 years old in this room right now (and I did so).

“Now when I point to you and say an age, and you will act like yourself at that age as if you were in this room today.

I pointed to someone and said “Act 2”

I pointed to someone else and said, “Act 6”

*This didn’t work out as well as I thought it would.  People mostly decided that they were going to throw things across the room, which was hilarious in a room full of professionals.*

“The next two layers are the most important for you as Toastmasters.  The first of the two is ‘Analyzing.’

“In our Toastmasters evaluations, we analyze and evaluate, but I doubt we really know the difference.

“When we analyze, we break down information into its parts.  When teachers do this, we ask our students ‘What is fact and what is opinion?’ and ‘What is the purpose?”  We tell them to compare, contrast, and infer.”

“When I use this layer for learning about children, I learn about their development and their needs.”

“As Toastmasters, we break down a speech into its part.  Sometimes we do this by summarizing the speech and what exactly the speaker did.

“The next layer is ‘Evaluating.’

“Evaluating, is literally judging value, to yourself, others, or society.

“When we ask our students to evaluate, we ask them questions like, “What inconsistencies appear?” and “What is the importance of…?” We ask them to judge and defend.

“When I evaluate children, I ask myself what they mean to me.  For instance, when I walk into Wal-Mart after a long day and hear a screaming baby, I don’t say to myself, ‘Oh my gosh, I have to get out of here.”  I say, “Oh my gosh, I want one!”

“When we evaluate in Toastmasters, we speak for ourselves rather than the whole audience.  We talk about the impact of certain strategies, what we liked, and what we didn’t like.

“The final layer is ‘Creating.’

“When we ask our students to create, we ask ‘How would you test?’ and ‘How else could you or would you?’

“We ask them to develop and design.

“When I do this with children…Well, creating children?

“That’s another speech.

“Thank you.”

As I said, I had a blast with this speech.  There a lot of things that I wanted to do that I didn’t do, including pass out some amazing take-home visual aids.  They were hand made flowers with different colored petals of different sizes that represented each level of the Bloom’s Taxonomy pyramid.  I also didn’t have a conclusion, but I think it worked out just fine without it.  I only left it out because of time.

My evaluator told me not to thank the audience.  They should be thanking you.  This is very true. I’ve heard it before, but I never remember.  What I try to do is address the Toastmaster to give control of the lectern back to him / her.

She also mentioned that I smiled a lot while  I was talking about children, and the club never gets to see me smile like that.  She told me to always use that enthusiasm when I speak.  I love this kind of advice.

Now, I am very aware that this isn’t a perfect transcript of my speech and that it would be much more effective to share a video with you.  I will work on making this happen, but until then, have a happy week!  My next speech is in one week and it will be my final speech from my competent communication manual.  It will be an official kick-off for my DTM by the time I graduate goal.  I want to encourage people to consider pursuing their DTM, but (more than that) to inspire them to think about their goals in present tense.  Not “It WILL happen,” nor “It IS GOING TO happen,” but “IT IS HAPPENING!!!”

With that, I leave you hopefully inspired.

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Your turn!

How’s your week been?  Mine has been super busy!

Tell me an inspirational story!

Arts Short #1

I’ve decided to do a little series of blogs based on a blog I read by Lisa Phillips.  Here’s the link: http://blog.artsusa.org/2012/11/26/the-top-10-skills-children-learn-from-the-arts/

Brought to my attention by my mother, this post gives brief, yet specific, comments on ten skills children learn from the arts.

In this series, I’ll fill in my own experiences, ideas, thoughts, etc. that occurred to me as I read this post.  I hope you will comment with your input as well.  (As mentioned on my about page, I want this blog to be a conversation, not a diary.)

Here is the first part of the post:

1. Creativity – Being able to think on your feet, approach tasks from different perspectives and think ‘outside of the box’ will distinguish your child from others. In an arts program, your child will be asked to recite a monologue in 6 different ways, create a painting that represents a memory, or compose a new rhythm to enhance a piece of music. If children have practice thinking creatively, it will come naturally to them now and in their future career.

I feel that it is very important to note that creativity is considered a skill in this post.  It is not a tool that is used in the arts; instead it is a byproduct of the arts.  How cool is that?!  That means creativity is valuable in other parts of life.  You may say, “Well, duh!” but when was the last time you thought about the importance of creativity in playing basketball, washing dishes, or going to sleep at night.  These are all things we may think we know how to do instinctively or learn how to do because there is only one right way.  What if we started thinking creatively about basketball?  “What practicing strategies work best for me? other players?” How about dishes?  “What is the most efficient way to do this?”  “Are there equally efficient ways that work for people with different skill sets?”  Going to sleep? How about:  “How can I relax my body after a stressful day?” “Can I use the same techniques to de-stress during the day without falling asleep?”  Even crazier questions start popping up now: “How can I use my relaxation techniques to help me improve in basketball or washing dishes?”  It’s not as crazy as it sounds if you open your mind.

What about the monologue assignment referred to in the post?

Read this blog with an angry voice…sad voice…sick voice (pick your poison)…scary voice…cheerleader voice…newscaster voice.  Whoa!  Now, I’m not saying any of that changes the meaning of this blog, but I’m saying that was probably pretty fun.  Now, to all my Toastmasters readers, how does that change how you speak? how you listen?  How does it change your options when you’re writing speeches?

I love the wording this writer uses: “a painting that represents a memory.”  How much can you’re tone of voice change the way you know and learn?

How does the amount of positive or negative energy you put into the things you do affect your daily thoughts?

How well do you listen?  Does your listening inspire you?  Do you learn from all your observations…better yet, CAN you learn from all your observations?

Really, now, what is creativity to you?  If you think you aren’t creative, think again.  You’re artistic or musical ability have nothing to do with it…(in fact, I know some musicians who are not creative with their music-making).  I would even go so far as to say, if you’re not being creative, you’re not thinking.  Your ideas matter because you live in a world where intangible imagination becomes tangible success.  Don’t take other people’s imagination for granted.  Take it as an opportunity to start imagining.

(Yes, I am completely aware that I sound like a fortune cookie…and I like it that way.)

Moral of the story: The arts do not require creativity, they produce it.  Creativity produces personal innovation.  Personal innovation produces innovative habits.  Innovative habits produce successful experiences.  Let your children be successful.

Now…explore a world of pure imagination…

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Your turn:

I hope you had a great weekend.  Tell me about your Monday…misery loves company :-p

What are your thoughts on creativity?  Do you have any quirky stories (such as washing dishes relating to basketball)?

Into the Fray

Yesterday (Black Friday), I did something I thought I’d never do. I left the house on the day after Thanksgiving.

What could possibly be that important?  Toastmasters of course!

I got a flip board and some construction paper, and if you’re ever in the market for a flip board, be prepared to spend a little extra money.  I went to Staples and looked at all the outrageously overpriced flip boards (that’s the only kind they had), and chose the cheapest one.  I was about to check out when I had this funny feeling that cheaper may not be better, so I tested out the board by leaning it against my cart and, lo and behold, it caved in on itself.  The only way to make this work would be to buy an easel.  I looked across the aisle at the $60 easels and remembered my $50 budget.  Dilemma: settle for a floppy flip board or spend a few extra bucks on a sturdier one that wouldn’t require an easel.  I put back the former and searched for something better.  The first thing that caught my eye was a flip board with a white board on the back.  Rewind! White board!  I love white boards.  They are the most efficient way to organize my thoughts….but that’s not what I came for 😦 But wait! There’s more!  It folds up into its own easel, you can pull off the pages and stick them to things, and it’s only $10 more than the floppy flip board (still in my budget).  Done!

My Black Friday Baby!

Who would have thought I’d go out on Black Friday and come home with the flip board of my dreams? :-p

(Matthews Toastmasters’ club pride basket that I won at the District 37 Fall Conference just happens to have a book about flip board presentations that will certainly be put to use soon.)

As you can see the first page says Bloom!  That would be because I’m preparing for my next speech.  More on that in another blog.  The speech is happening on Tuesday, and I’m super excited.

On a different note, I recently took on a new project for my CL (Competent Leader) manual.  I’m mentoring a new member.  I’m super excited for his first time leading Table Topics on Tuesday.  We had a great first meeting this week and we talked about his goals and such, and shortly thereafter he did an excellent job as timer.  He’ll be getting a lot of shout outs in this blog because…well just ’cause I’m a proud mentor.

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Your turn!!!

What was your Black Friday experience?

How has your weekend been so far?  Mine has looked like this…

But seriously…I wouldn’t not do homework if I truly needed to be doing it.  I may procrastinate, but I do want to graduate.

Happy Birthday and Thanksgiving!

Today, after a few minutes of labor, a blog was born.

The blog: A Medal and a Mortar Board

Why? Medal–DTM by May 2015; Mortar Board–Graduate of Appalachian State University by May 2015.

For more info, see https://xandra724.wordpress.com/about/

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Also extremely important, after 2 days of labor, my family and my wonderful boyfriend Andrew’s family shared a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner.

Menu:

Smoked Turkey–made by Andrew’s daddy

Cranberry Sauce–made by my parents

Butternut Squash Soup, Mashed Potatoes, Mashed Rutabega, Sweet Potato Hashbrowns–made by my daddy

Garlic Biscuits–made by me

Candy Jello Salad, Sour Cream and Raisin Pie, Butterscotch Pie, Peach Squares, Stuffing/Dressing–made by Andrew’s mom

Iced Tea, Coffee, Sparkling Grape Juice, Cherry Wine, Champagne

OMG…I probably forgot something on that list, however, my tummy didn’t miss a thing…and now (like the rest of America) I’m paying for it.

Unfortunately, my love couldn’t join us.  He’s still at work at the only restaurant open on Thanksgiving.  It’s 10pm now, and I’m very ready to see him.

…30 sec. after I wrote that, he walked in!

BTDubs (I really like saying that in my head, though I’ve never said it out loud.  Translation: by the way) my poor baby has to be at work again at 6 in the morning!

While he catches up on the feasting, I’ll continue to write.

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The reason this blog exists is to track my Toastmasters journey, as mentioned on the about page.  Because of the aforementioned two days of labor leading to Thanksgiving dinner, I haven’t done much TM work, however, this blog’s purpose is to keep me accountable and in the TM zone.  Moreover, it is meant to show that Toastmasters is a life experience, and life is a Toastmasters experience, so there will be more posts that aren’t so related to Toastmasters.  There will also be pictures, possibly videos, and lots (LOTS!) of cool stuff because my life is pretty cool and I like to share my thoughts and ideas and experiences.  What’s the point of life if you don’t share it.  It has also come to my attention that some people would like me to start a blog…so this is it!

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Your turn to share!

What did you eat and who did you eat with?

What experience do you want to share today? (Please share because I want this to be a conversation, not a diary.)