In the conference “Urban Spaces, Media Spaces”, held at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, professors from different literature courses gave their students the opportunity of presenting original works done in class. Among the presenters were some of my classmates and I. Never had I presented one of my works of literature in front of a big crowd. Truth be told, I started getting nervous when the presenter called us up front, and the feeling intensified once I found myself sitting at the table with everyone in the room staring at us.
As soon as I started reading, the uneasiness went away and I was able to focus on my story rather than thinking about my anxiety. One of my biggest worries was that I would not be able to pronounce words correctly because whenever I have to talk in English in front of strangers, I get nervous and cannot talk with that much fluidity or with appropriate pronunciation. It makes me mad because I always talk in English when I am with my friends but something in me freezes whenever I have to address others. Thankfully, everything went well; my words were clear and eloquent.
One of the things I liked the most about this conference was that although our stories were simple and short, the audience’s attention was captured and there was an ongoing discussion about different aspects of our stories. I originally thought that they would not get too interested in our essays; but when they did, I felt excited. It was truly amazing how our literary works were brief, yet we spent most of the time answering questions from the audience. This proved to me that our stories were more than just a retelling of a situation we experienced regarding an offense or a dilemma with a figure of authority; it was about how important turn out to be different life experiences that we usually take for granted. To some degree, I believe that the audience engaged into a discussion and paid attention because they could feel identified in one way or another. The various situations presented form part of our everyday lives and it is not always that we realize how much we learn from them.
This conference not only gave us the chance to let others hear our responses on “The Use of Force” by William Carlos Williams but also let us explore the feeling of being on the other side of the theater; being the presenter instead of the spectator. In the beginning, when the professor told me that I would present at this conference, I was internally freaking out because I am a shy person and do not feel pleasant talking in front of a large crowd; but then I decided to challenge myself and accepted. I am glad that I got out of my comfort zone as I left the theater feeling confident and sure of my capabilities. In other words, this turned out to be a life-changing experience.
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