Trying to be patient when life knocks us down

Patience, my worst enemy. I knew how difficult it was going to be, but damn these days it seems everyone that I know can’t get a break!

Life happens and I understand but, how many trials do we all need to go through to finally get to the top of the mountain? Everything just always seems to be hitting everyone at the worst times and all at once. Once we figure it out, something happens that brings us two-steps back again. I know so many people who work so hard, who can give themselves the motivation to keep going, but still end up back at square one, so again I ask. How much do we need give to finally get on top of the mountain?

The destination seems endless and impossible. In a time of our lives where we are stressed over how many jobs we need to work to pay off our debts, parents that just don’t understand that sometimes we couldn’t be that person they wanted us to be, or being scared that the road ahead keeps splitting into two. At the end of the day, maybe honestly, we just don’t know what we want. That isn’t acceptable though, our lives have been programmed to have a beginning and an end, and the ending needs to have some purpose.

I think we all play this patience game, because we are waiting for something to strike us so something can make sense. What makes sense? People who dream are told not to dream to big, because in reality that dream can’t happen right away, so don’t set your expectations high. I could be wrong, but I feel we constantly push each other down rather than pushing each other up. Reality is what we make it, and if we are the ones who are being patient, maybe we should act that others are waiting for us, so we can change the lives of those around us.

Writing a good speech

If you every have the opportunity in taking a speech writing class or a public speaking class I highly suggest thinking about taking one of the courses or both of them. I have taken both classes in my college career and was also a teachers assistant for both courses.

I have read and heard a lot of speeches, and even though I have never written a professional speech, a lot of what I do at work is focus on presentations and how to make each of them better so they can be fresh and fun for both the performer and the audience.

You can have two different types of speeches. Informative or Persuasive. The informative speech informs the audience of an event or situation and bases the speech on fact and statistics. A persuasive speech challenges the audience and the goal of the presenter is to appeal to the audience and get them on their side.

The biggest challenges when writing a speech is the beginning and the end. The beginning is crucial because, that is when you need to grab the audience’s attention and it sets the tone for the whole speech. There are many ways in getting the audience’s attention. They are called attention getting devices. The most popular ones people use are… Humor, rhetorical question, quote, personal story, music, or pictures. (side note about pictures) Using pictures is a great way to get the audience in, but when you are not referring to the picture turn the picture around, because ultimately you want the audience to focus on you not the picture.

After your attention getting device, go right into your thesis and explain why you are talking about this certain topic. From what I noticed some people start off with saying “I am talking about..” a better way on addressing to the audience is using “WE” language. Using “WE” language is good because it gets everyone involved with the issue not just yourself.

The middle of the speech should be filled with citations and credited sources, also do not forget to add your transitions. Transition words can make a good speech become amazing with just using those connector words.

Now, comes the end. after an amazing intro and body the end is where everybody gets stuck and I do not blame them. Endings are hard, but the main goal when ending a speech is to have a good clincher. Endings are what people are going to remember the most, because it is the last thing that they hear. First, try and summarize the message, secondly, paraphrase the thesis, then establish order by mentioning the message once more, lastly the closing statement which is your clincher.

Clinchers are hard to come up with, but I promise, you do not need to be a witty person to develop a strong clincher. Like everything else, it just takes practice.

I wanted to post this because, I am working on a speech right now and I wanted to share with everyone on how I develop a speech and I hope this helps to anyone taking or who is interested in taking a speech class. and shout out to my professor who taught me everything I know Nora Montanaro from SUNY Plattsburgh!

Completely Blessed

It has definitely been a while since I posted anything on my blog. If any of you have been following, sorry about the hiatus my life has changed pretty quickly. I titled this post “Completely Blessed” because, that is exactly how I feel. I graduated college, took a trip to the Philippines to see my grandparents, bought a new car, and got my first “adult” job as a public relations and marketing specialist.

I guess the new challenge is making time for everything. I am still 22 going on 23, and life is still an open book for me. I want to experience the world, but it’s hard once you have bills to pay and I think everyone can agree with me on that one. It is a good feeling finally being able to rely on myself. Being away for almost 3 years, I mostly relied on my parents to pay for everything. I tried getting a job up at school, but a lot of places don’t call back once they figure out you do not live in the area.

Honestly, I did not expect to be working so early on after graduation. I interned for a small business which needed help in the summer of 2012 with social media and promotions. I did not get paid, it was more of me volunteering my time, but I wanted some experience before I graduated. My boss was a nice man, him and I kept in contact with each other once I left again for school.

Once I graduated, I contacted him again not expecting anything, just to ask if we could meet up for lunch just to catch up and maybe for me to get some connections. It just so happened that he was looking for an assistant and also more help in the social media and marketing area. The job pretty much landed on my lap, I had nothing else going on for me so might as well just take the chance. After that life started to take over and before I knew it, I had a new car in the driveway, waking up at 7am Monday-Friday, and paying my first set of bills.

It has been a crazy time, but I have been loving every minute of it. I wouldn’t change anything, I’m happy with where I am. I love being close to my parents, being able to with my boyfriend and friends. I do miss college sometimes, but everyday is rewarding knowing how great things are working out. I know it’s not always going to be sunshine and rainbows, but with how everything has happened, I do and still feel completely blessed. Everything is a lesson and now with experience I can figure out what I need to do, to get where I want to be for my future.

Next step: Meet the parents

Being in a new relationship there is a fun and innocent side when starting out, but once you start spending more time with this person, you become invested in them and they become a bigger part in the picture. Meeting the parents is a step that all couples take eventually. When you allow your significant other meet your parents, it is a sign of taking the person you are with serious and that you are deepening your relationship.

Parents are tricky. I have always been nervous when meeting parents, but nervous is a good thing because it shows that you are taking the meeting seriously. Everyone wants to be liked, but if you are not liked by your partner’s parents that calls for some rough storms ahead.

You always need to remember that parents always want what is best for their kids. Even if the relationship between the parents and you start off rocky, they will always lighten up. Have the patience and try to get to know them too. Taking communication classes believe me, people love talking about themselves because people like to feel important.

Dating is simple, but adding elements like family starts to make it complex. Complex is good, because it challenges your partner and you. Life is not perfect, but it will still go on and just got to roll with what is coming at you.

I am nervous and scared meeting my boyfriend’s parents. They are a traditional family and I am afraid of saying the wrong thing or making them feel uncomfortable.

The fear is not pleasing them, but remember you are dating your partner not their parents. All you can do is be yourself and being yourself is enough.

In my personal opinion, I think that if you are truly happy with the person you are with. That they do not harm you in anyway shape or form. Parents will always want to see their child happy.

To those who are also in the next step, good luck and hopefully the first meeting will go smoothly!

When you are ready

Being in a long distance relationship was hard. The constant trips back and forth only able to see the person maybe two days out of the four you were home, because not only were you trying to spend time with your partner, but also making time for family and friends.

Being in a new relationship is great. It is exciting and fun! Starting out a relationship and then leaving two weeks after is what makes this relationship hard. I have been going out with my boyfriend for four months now. I could not be happier, I am so lucky to have someone who has been there for me and has stuck out the distance to be with me. It is honestly a miracle and I am so thankful everyday to have him in my life.

The tricky part is when the distance is over and now you are finally home. In my last post, I wrote about graduating college. I am ready to experience the full extant of adulthood, and now also work on a new relationship.

It’s hard because, even though I have been with my boyfriend for awhile now, we still do not know each other. It is almost like going back to day one.

The feelings are there, but something still holds you back from being completely upfront about those feelings.

Feelings can be expressed in many forms. Calling, “check-up” texts, surprises, physical touch, jokes, smiles, and laughter. I guess it is more that you want to hear it, you want to hear the special words. Once you do, it is like finally everything is complete, there is no worrying or analyzing.

You are finally free to tell this person exactly how you feel, with the most indescribable word, because it is just that powerful.

I wish that sometimes things were different. I wish that I was not far away and that maybe my boyfriend and I would not be feeling this way and that we can be a open about how we feel about each other. We care deeply about each other, but I know we need to just be patient and wait for the moment when we are comfortable and it will be right and not just said.

When we are ready, I know our relationship will be more deeper, until then I am happy with where we are now and even though I wish that sometimes things were different. I do not regret anything.