08 Jul Public Speaking

The looming program that I have been preparing for is finally facing me on Monday. Not only have I been worried about giving a 20-minute presentation, but this stress caused some serious writer’s block. I am excited, though, because I know that after I do it once then it will no longer be scary, and I will grow and be comfortable in other educational situations in the future. The technique I have learned to teach the geology by is D.U.D.E. It stands for deposition, uplift, downcutting and erosion. Through these four natural occurrences, the grandest canyon in the world was formed. Now the only question is: How do I explain that over the course of 20 minutes to a group of people with little to no background in geology? Well, I have a nice outline and plan on using it. At least for the first time, but I truly didn’t realize how much stress this was going to cause me! Anyway, other than this big effort, I have been working behind the front desk at the visitor center and at kids tables throughout the park. It has been a great experience to see how differently people live and how the progression of technology and society has allowed everyone to live in unison. At one of the Native American dance performances there was traditional indigenous clothing, and sitting in the front row watching this historical representation were four monks in full robes. It was a beautiful sight to see people from literally different corners of the globe coming together and learning about one another people’s ways.