Rules for Public Speaking

Public speaking is a strong suit for some but very difficult for many others. Most people dread speaking in public. The fear of forgetting what to say, all eyes on you, and trembling in front of the audience are all fun factors of talking to what seems like a giant group of strangers or people you know. Luckily, overtime people have discovered tips for individuals to ease the nerves and make them stronger public speakers.

Major factors for public speaking include volume, tone, speed, body language, and memory. Because of these factors, rules have developed. A good public speaker has a voice that is not to loud, not to soft, and appropriate for the topic along with their tone of voice. The speaker needs to ensure they aren’t speeding through their speech or talking way to slow because it makes it dreadful to listen to. They also need to be aware of their body language and be sure to practice the speech ahead of time to avoid freezing up. Nobody likes watching someone stare at note cards and get lost in their word for word handwriting when giving a speech. Moving around and engaging makes a presentation much more interesting to watch.

The man in this video had good volume, good body language, and did a good job of appealing to the crowd. An aspect he struggled with was getting distracted when the woman entered the room. He repeated out loud “keep going, keep going” which isn’t a good thing to do when giving a speech. Also, in a professional setting it wouldn’t be appropriate to start pretend kick boxing, but it was almost okay because it was amusing for the children to watch. Overall he gave a great speech and had a very interesting topic for the kids to listen to.

I Wish I Would Have Researched… (Gross Story)

Mooyah burgers. When Mooyah first opened everyone wanted to try it. This restaurant was advertised to have the best fries, shakes, and burgers. I never did any true research about it since it seemed brand new for everyone, but I had very high hopes.

It was eighth period, the last day of finals before winter break and I was talking with my friend Lexi about what food she wanted to get before our cheer practice or basketball game, I don’t remember which it was. We finally decided on Mooyah since we both never had it and left eighth period early to be on our way. When we arrived we created our burgers, ordered some fries, and a shake. Everything was absolutely delicious; we both left stuffed. We stayed until our grades were finalized, checked our grades, and went back to school for cheer.

Cheer was good that day and after I went home to spend time with my boyfriend. Later that night we were watching TV and my stomach started to hurt. I feel like my stomach hurts all the time so I wasn’t worried. I began to worry when I started feeling nauseous. I kept walking to the bathroom just in case but I wasn’t throwing up. I took some pepto bismol and tried to lay down. After about 30 minutes of running back and forth I threw up. I thought once I threw up it would be a one time thing and I was done so I laid back down. Unfortunately I was mistaken. I went back to the bathroom one more time and it became non stop. I couldn’t even move with out throwing up. Even when I had thrown up everything in my body I was still gagging throwing up saliva. I knew it was bad when I threw up for about the 20th time and wasn’t stopping any time soon. I forced my boyfriend to wake up my mom (he didn’t for so long because he thought there was nothing she could do). My mom came down and realized I couldn’t even stand up, I can’t even explain how horrible it was so she realized she needed to call an ambulance. It was very difficult to get me on the ambulance because I couldn’t stop puking. Eventually, they were able to get me on the stretcher sitting up with a bucket. I was shaking and gagging the entire ride. They gave me IVs and lots of medicine. It was after midnight by this point and the medicine made me temporarily stop puking. I was able to fall asleep for a little while but when I woke up I threw up again instantly.  After this, they took me to get an ultra sound but didn’t find anything. The ultra sound person thought I was nervous but really I was so sick my body couldn’t stop shaking. At that point they took me too a room that is for patients who stay overnight or long term. I was given more and more medicine and was woken up every few hours.

I ended up staying in the hospital for 3 days. I was only allowed to eat flavored ice and soup broth. I didn’t even want that out of fear that I would throw up again. I was throwing up on and off for 2 days, and I was so dehydrated that also kept me there. The shocking thing was they couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me or what caused me to nonstop throw up. Apparently it wasn’t food poisoning, the doctors were so unsure when I finally left they noted it as a stomach viral infection. I still believe Mooyah had something to do with it because something like that doesn’t just happen. If it wasn’t for me I would have been there on Christmas. I was discharged December 23rd because I wanted to go home and I told them I was good enough to leave. Inside I felt so sick but Christmas was so close I wanted to be home. Since it was Christmas time all the volunteers that bring presents to the sick kids came to me too. I was treated so kindly during my stay but there was no way I was being in the hospital on Christmas.

I can honestly say this experience was by far one of the worst in my entire life and I hope no one ever has to go through that. I haven’t eaten at Mooyah since this day and I most definitely never will again. The hospital asked if I reported the incident but nothing happened to Lexi so I wasn’t 100% if the restaurant was what caused it. I never looked to see if anyone else had traumatic experiences but I definitely should check. All in all I am completely fine never ever ever eating at this restaurant again and if places are new, I will wait a long time to go and make sure the food is safe. I forever will review all new restaurants I eat at.

5 Instagram Accounts That Will Make You Want to Change Your Life

Instagram is filled with world travelers, fitness-fanatics, and gorgeous models that will make you realize you want to have a life like theirs. Here are some individuals and families that made the cut.

1. Alexis Ren

Famous model and only 21, has her own active wear clothing line, travels the world

2. Indy Blue

Became internet famous after posting a video of her summer and yearly travels, Instagram model, world traveler, videographer

3. The Bucket List Family

Family of 4 soon to be 5 that travels the world as a living, incredible life experiences, incredible way to grow up, couldn’t do it with out the help of social media and YouTube

4. Jay Alvarrez

Male model, world traveler, photographer, ex-boyfriend of Alexis Ren

5. Sommer Ray

Extremely into fitness, swimsuit model, models with her mom, absolutely stunning

Charlie Bit My Finger

The famous video of two toddler boys, Charlie and the other unnamed, went incredibly viral in May of 2007. The video has just short of one billion views at about 860 million. I remember hearing about this video when I was seven years old. I don’t exactly remember from who, but this was a time where YouTube seemed to be filled with random videos. YouTube was established in February of 2005 so this video was well before beauty gurus and vloggers. It was a time where YouTube consisted of mostly random content anyone could post since the site was so new. I remember finally watching the video over and over thinking it was hilarious. I would try to share it with others but they had already seen it so we would end up watching it again and again. Everyone I knew seemed to be watching these babies.

Being a seven year old at the time, I thought anything was funny. However, looking back and seeing that this website was established for people to share any videos they want and this is what we found humor in astonishes me. The video obviously went viral because the two babies were adorable and it was amusing that Charlie was biting the other toddlers finger and laughing at how funny he thought it was. I believe this video says a lot about internet fame and society because the simplest things cause people to become famous over night. Any child could be posted doing something like this, who knew billions of people would end up watching it.

Refreshing the page after a few minutes shows that the video is still getting hundreds of views by the minute. I refreshed the video after 10 minutes and it already had 400 more views. The video recently had a 10 year recognition bringing back the old memories and I am sure causing millions more to reminisce on their old favorite video. Scrolling through the comments people talk about Charlie as a true legend. One girl commented, “This is the first video I ever watched on YouTube :).” Our society treats this video like an ancient internet artifact. Who knew the mother of two baby boys would claim internet fame in our society forever.

Social Impacts of the Internet

The internet can be a very useful tool. It connects individuals with family members and friends in other states, over seas, or down the block and it gives the opportunity to meet new people by connecting with mutual friends and completely new people. Sharing photos and seeing comments helps people find others with common interests, but is the internet more dividing than we think?

Often times people spend more time on social media looking at what other people are doing rather than doing anything themselves. This form of isolation created by the internet and social media is damaging because once people start scrolling they can’t stop. For example, on Instagram if someone sees a picture of someone on the beach they might wish they were on the beach, but instead of going to the beach with other people for whatever reason, they keep scrolling to see what others are doing. Once they reach the feed they have already seen at a previous time, they switch apps and the process continues until hours have gone by staring at a screen. Precious time humans will never get back is wasted by doing basically nothing.

 

Along with scrolling comes endless amounts of pictures and comments which wouldn’t be there without the help of every social media user. Wherever we go and whatever we do, our events are filled with capturing every moment to post later. This may seem like a positive social impact since people are sharing their interests with others, but in reality our memories are remembered by taking the pictures instead of cherishing and living in the actual moments. It would be more beneficial to remember fun events of our lives with others rather than isolating ourselves from social memories in order to take pictures and videos to share with individuals who can only imagine how fun your time was. Living in the moment unites individuals, capturing every moment does not.

The Tangle Teezer

Are you tired of using a painful comb after the shower to save your ends? Are you using a brush on wet hair causing tremendous damage and ugly split ends? Your hair is most prone to breakage while it is wet and once hair is damaged there is no cure besides a hair cut and most hair damage occurs at all different lengths, basically impossible to make healthy again unless you shave your head. Since most of us know this isn’t an option, there has got to be a better way.

To stop your hair from struggling to survive, I have invented the Tangle Teezer. The name was created for that fact that, unlike any other brush, it can brush wet hair. Now you can enjoy a comfortable brush, gentle on your hair, stopping breakage so you and your hair can enjoy looking and feeling beautiful.

Take a look at the model I have brought in today: it has thin, rubber, flexible bristles for easy, careful guidance through your hair as it tackles tough knots formed in the shower. Are bristles are sized at different levels to reach are depths of your hair safely and painlessly, so your hair can be breakage free.

Now I know what you’re thinking, “How is this brush any safer for my hair than my regular brush or competitors like the Wet Brush? Easy, regular brushes have thick tough bristles with small spheres on the end as caps, all of which tug and rip on your hair causing extreme breakage and pain just to untangle your hair. The bristle are stiff and don’t guide with your hair during the detangling process, but instead work against your hair causing your ends to split. The Wet Brush is slightly better than a regular brush since it has more flexible bristles, but still causes more damage than the Tangle Teezer because of its spherical ends and since all of the bristles are at the same level, unable to gently reach all different levels of the hair.

 

The Tangle Teezer is travel friendly, easy to clean, and affordable. It comes in a variety of colors and works on all hair types. Your hair will  truly thank you for switching to the Tangle Teezer and you will be thanking yourself for feeling more confident and beautiful.

What is the Criteria for Being A Genius?

You always hear things like “wow that kid’s a genius” for getting a 36 on their ACT or constantly getting good grades, but what actually makes someone a genius? Are you only a genius if you invent something or pass a standardized test? Brilliance is commonly connected with being a genius. According to slate.com, “Geniuses are habitually curious, attentive, open-minded, and imaginative. Their work ethic tends to be relentless, methodical, diligent, and purposeful” (“What is Genius”). A typical IQ for a genius is said to be between 140 and 145. Some people say geniuses are one in a million. Others say geniuses come from hard work and dedication, but can anyone be genius? A CNN article states that many geniuses have a below average or moderate IQ and used evidence from college graduates compared to super stars and Pulitzer Prize winners. None of these individuals had “genius” ranked IQ’s but the article says that they are considered geniuses.

It seems to me that being a genius is correlated with an opinion about a particular skill. Albert Einstein is considered a genius but he never liked or did well in school. Also, if a superstar or pullitzer prize winner is considered a genius, their “brilliance” most likely didn’t happen over night. I believe being a genius depends on the situation sometimes. If an individual has a “genius” IQ then clearly they are very gifted. Some people could be naturally gifted, but others do have to work hard for success. Many genius inventors probably failed multiple times, but eventually found something that worked contributing to their brilliance. I disagree with part of the article for the fact that they only looked at college graduates as geniuses and how they came to be. Many people graduate college and aren’t extremely smart in the end, others are. Also, people that didn’t go to college yet are still considered geniuses, for example the “gifted children” on TV showing their brilliance. So what is a genius? A brilliant IQ, a famous person, an award winner? I guess it will take a genius to know.

I Am Down-to-Earth

I asked my friend what is the first trait she thinks of when describing me and her phrase was down-to-earth. When I think of down-to-earth, I think of a person who is very sweet and caring. According to the dictionary definition, down-to-earth means caring, sensible, practical, and realistic. I definitely embrace this character trait because I feel like it is a compliment. I could understand why she would say this about me because I try to be nice to everyone. I really care about all my friends and family. They are all very important to me and I do a lot for them. I don’t mind helping people out because it is doing them a favor and I am always happy to help. It makes me feel good knowing I can make someones life a little easier.

Another aspect of down-to-earth is sensible, and part of sensible means appreciable. To know that I am appreciated also makes me happy. I further agree with the fact that I am realistic. I am an honest person who tries to help others through a realistic perspective. I feel like I am that person that my friends can talk to if they ever need advice and they know I will give my honest opinion.

Along with being considered down-to-earth comes with traits that I am not. I don’t like being mean to people. When girls or guys are mean to one another it makes me sad because I feel like it is unnecessary. Most of the time when people are rude it is over the dumbest things and obviously if someone is fighting with another person, that puts both of them in a bad mood. I am the person who tries to think of things in positive ways and believes that life is too short to be unhappy. Why hold grudges if there is nothing you can do to change whatever happened? If you waste time being unhappy you can’t get that time back. Because of this, if I am ever in an argumentative situation, I try to approach it passively to avoid further issues. This may contribute to why someone would say I am down-to-earth because even when arguing I try to be as kind as possible.

 

Gender Impact in My Life

Growing up, I definitely wasn’t raised to be a sissy. My family was very outdoorsy and not afraid to get dirty. Most summers were spent in Michigan, on a lake, and in the country. We always fished, skied, and played outside constantly. Showering was the worst part of the day because that meant I had to come inside!

 Van Auken Lake

Many of the sports I played also weren’t very girly. I played soccer and basketball forever, and I always remember my parents despising cheerleaders. They would always say, “You shouldn’t be cheering for other people, people should be cheering for you.” Cheerleaders to them were ditzy and they believed cheerleading wasn’t a real sport.   Once I got to 5th grade I joined the cross country team since it was the only sport you can play as a 5th grader. My mom and dad were both runners at the time and were thrilled at the idea. I don’t know where I picked it up from but I would always do cart wheels and backbends in my backyard, at soccer practice, and cross country practice so cheerleading was clearly in my blood.

In 6th grade, during the cross country season, in gym class there was 2 lists to sign up for: basketball tryouts and cheerleading tryouts.

My teacher knew I was a basketball player and really wanted me on the team. However, one of my friends who was in my gym class, was talking about trying out for cheerleading and invited me to an open gym class at the Joliet Park District. I absolutely adored tumbling and went home to ask my mom if I could try out. I was nervous to ask and she was confused and almost unhappy at first but she said if that is really what I wanted to do then I should do it. By the time I decided I wanted to try out, I missed the chance to sign up for either sport. However, I showed up to the cheerleading tryout any way, but they couldn’t let me since I was already in cross country. I was so upset but I think my parents were happy since they didn’t want their daughter to be a cheerleader.

I finished off the 6th grade running season, tried out for cheer in 7th grade, and made it. I have been cheering ever since. My mom really realized how important and difficult cheerleading was after we won state in 2016. That night she came up to me and said “I get it now,” because her rule always was I could only be in one sport at a time and it always made me so upset because in order to be a cheerleader you NEED tumbling, therefore you have to be in tumbling classes or you will fall behind.

Both of my parents are very supportive now of my sport but at the time they were very upset I gave up my running career. In a way gender has shaped who I am today because my parents were discouraging one of the “most girly” sports in the world by putting me into every sport besides it, but I guess in 6th grade my girly side unleashed. Cheerleading made my life more difficult at one point because no body wanted me to do it. They would much rather have me run and they didn’t understand how important training with tumbling was. My sports career life has definitely been interesting since I have participated in just about every sport. I don’t let my gender affect my athletic abilities now because, since I am a cheerleader many people underestimate me in other sports. Little do they know I have played them all and I am not a stereotypical cheerleader. I was raised to know not to be like that in any way. I refuse to be discriminated in athletics do to my gender or any time in my life. To me people are people and talk is cheap. It is all about proving yourself. 

Audi Breaks Gender Roles

 Audi puts gender shaming to dust. The video begins with a girl doll kicking her pink carriage seeming as if it’s too lame for her now, which in unusual because many dolls are advertised with vehicles like carriages since most are princesses. This doll breaks that stereotype since she is a tough girl. The ad continues with many different cars cat calling at the doll, but she ignores them until the Audi pulls up and opens the passenger door. One stereotype is portrayed by the cars catcalling expecting the girl doll to give in to all the attention, which she doesn’t. Another may be that girls can’t drive nice cars but, the doll walks over to the driver side of the Audi and gets in (stereotype broken).

The doll wasn’t the only part of the ad crushing gender roles. The ad also features pony’s skate boarding, barbies playing soccer, G.I. Joe drinking tea, and finally a little boy picking up the Audi and the girl to buy. This ad is saying that no matter what gender you are, you can do the same things as each gender. Just because your a girl doesn’t mean you deserve to be catcalled at, just because your a girl doesn’t mean you can’t drive a nice car, just because your girl doesn’t mean you can’t skate, and just because your a girl doesn’t mean you can’t play sports. On the other hand, just because your a boy doesn’t mean you can’t have girl dolls and doesn’t mean you can’t drink tea. All situations don’t change one’s manliness or feminism.

This ad is very successful because it doesn’t only focus on one gender, but it focuses on both genders. The value of the ad would change if they didn’t show the boy buying the girl doll or G.I. Joe drinking tea because the purpose of the ad is crushing BOTH gender roles. If it just featured girls, many may ignore the ad and say girls are just trying to act manly when they’re not. However, since the ad shows both men and women, the viewers response is forced to change. Audi wants to send the message to their viewers and drivers that guys and girls can do anything they want! A gender can not leave out anyone from any activities.