Cold Front (2/8/21-2/14/21)

This week was somewhat rough, juggling studying for major tests in some of the most difficult classes I am taking this year alongside managing my time for extracurricular activities and typical schoolwork. On top of that I also had my work in the Independent Study and Mentorship program on which I fell behind my typical schedule. I am not the best at managing my time but I always make sure to turn in my assignments ahead of or on time, especially for ISM, so this week made me feel a lot more lethargic than usual, which almost posed a very dangerous threat to me. To specify, I almost turned in my assessment for this week late due to the fact that I was exhausted and was not on top of checking what assignments were due ahead of time. However, I did have a moment of self-growth as I was working on the Original Work Speech that was due this week. As someone who has transformed from a meek, introverted person in middle school to the somewhat outgoing individual I am now, there are still a lot of areas in regards to my interpersonal skills that I need to work on. Although I recorded my Original Work Speech around the end of last weekend, and managed to present at an acceptable level in my books, I was not satisfied with my mediocre performance. Initially I wasn’t even planning to go back and record my Original Work Speech again for efficiency purposes and the fact that I had many major exams this week, but my OCD motivated me to keep pushing forward, and I recorded a much better run the second time. With my Original Work Speech, my speaking skills have improved as a whole. Although I messed up several times during the presentation of my speech (with enunciation and stuttering), it was a significant improvement over the manner in which I spoke in the first two speeches. Daniel has told me frequently that one’s ability to communicate an idea in a concise and clear manner is indispensable in aerospace engineering, so I need to put in the time to hone my eloquence while presenting (simplify the language I use in my speech and practice my enunciation so that my audience can understand me), learn how to fully utilize the visual aid that I have with useful and comprehensible material, and most importantly, put in hours of effort into refining the content that I put into my speech and how I convey it to my audience. I hope that in the near future I will be able to become extremely proficient with my words to get closer to achieving my grand ambition.