NWC Diversity Event

I went to the Diversity Event called NWC. It focused on racial discrimination. The actors used humor and music to convey a message of unity. The main point of the presentation was to show that there is only one race, the human race. I really enjoyed this event because it was edutaining. Not only was it informative, but you were also entertained. I have always felt like this is the best way to teach a large group of people new things. Like most people, I usually feel uncomfortable when discussing these kind of issues but the actors in this event made the atmosphere relaxed and fun. Honestly, I was dreading going to a diversity event but NWC really surprised me. I am looking forward to another event like that in the future.

Me at my best

I have been very fortunate to have been a part of so many successful teams during high school. My football team and jazz band each won two state championships while I was a member. However, speech contest was where I really shined. Speech gave even a weird misfit kid like myself a chance to succeed.

It was my junior year in high school when I was truly at my best. My friend and I performed a short play for speech contest. The play was called World Wide Fans, and was about two sports anchors reporting news about outrageous events such as the World Toe Wrestling Championships and the finals of the worst things to say on a first date contest. We took the script and made it our own. We inserted new lines, gestures, and even choreographed a dramatic fight scene at the end that involved me flipping my friend over a table.

When it came to the state contest, we performed perfectly. We knew we had performed well when the entire room erupted into applause as we finished. I will never forget the feeling of standing in front of that room and looking at everyone laughing and clapping and thinking to myself, "We made them feel this way!" My friend and I were selected to the All-State speech contest which was a huge honor for us.

After this experience, I learned many things that I still incorporate into my life today. I learned to enjoy all of the little things in life and to never be too serious to laugh. I also learned to be creative and think outside of the box. These skills will help me in college and perhaps in my future career.

Assignment #1: Beloit College Mindset

After reading over this list of assumptions concerning my generation, I couldn't help but feel insulted by most of this list. It is as if the people that created the list forgot about our ability to gain information in many different ways. I knew nearly every topic discussed on this list because of either television, the internet, or oral communication. For instance, one of my favorite bands in Nirvana. If something is as timeless as Nirvana, your generation does not influence whether or not you enjoy it.

Number thirty-two on the list, "Czechoslovakia has never existed," angered me quite a bit. Apparently they forgot that history is still taught in high school. They also believe that we have never heard the stories of Galileo and Mechelangelo. We haven't been living under a rock for eighteen years. Our generation probably knows more about past popular culture and events than any other generation before. We have the technology to research just about anything at anytime.

I do understand how they developed this list. I would agree that without our access to technology, many of the statements on this list would be correct. With that being said, society should start to acknowledge that my generation understands the world around us and will be the driving force behind improving it in the future.