Fireside Chat

Our Fireside Chat was one of the greatest experiences I have had all semester.  I was so surprised and truly touched at how amazing it was.  I was extremely impressed by everyone's stories and by the atmosphere of the night.  We have all gotten to know each other pretty well this semester, being in so many classes together.  However, I felt that our Fireside Chat allowed us to exceed the level of comfort and understanding of each other that we had previous.  I loved getting to know everyone at an even more personal level.  Furthermore, I was impressed by peoples' willingness to share things so personal to them.

After the performance, I realized how high of an opinion I have of everyone in this class.  I always looked up to everyone and thought they were wonderful people, but this night just increased that sense I had exponentially.  Everyone truly is amazing and has so many amazing qualities.  I have grown to love and appreciate this group of people, and the Fireside Chat only enhanced these feelings.

Much like my impressions from the Exercise in Empathy, I also realized how humble and full of wisdom everyone is.  Sometimes we go through life feeling alone and that nobody else understands us.  If we have this negative attitude, we cannot get help and advice from anyone because we are too blocked off to the idea.  This night helped me realize that a lot of people are going through just as difficult, if not more so, trials than I am.  I am so impressed by how everyone in our class has responded in certain situations.  This gives me a feeling of happiness and hope for the future that I, and others, can handle tough situations and get through them in one piece.  And the wisdom of everyone was tremendous.  I could feel the maturity of everyone, based on the specific story they told, or their reaction in the situation when it happened.

My performance went a lot differently than expected.  I usually love performing in front of people.  I do not get nervous, or shake, or anything of that matter.  But when I told my story, everything changed.  I was so overcome with emotion.  That story is not one that I have told many people.  It is a very personal moment that is hard to return to because of the fear and pain I went through.  Deciding to tell that story was definitely hard.  I was uncomfortable with the idea because I feared how emotional I would get.  As I practiced, it really was not that difficult.  I thought I was going to get through telling my story easily.  But the moment I began, a switch turned inside of me.  I would not say I had the typical nerves.  Rather, I was shaking so much because of what I was saying.  It hits home so much.  And saying everything out loud in a way felt like I was reliving it.  Telling that story was harder than I had imagined.  I actually felt some of those terrifying and angry feelings that I felt ten years ago.  But in the end, what hit me most was talking about my sister today and the beliefs I have in her.  I love that we talked about our beliefs.  That is what made all the difference to me in this project, and honestly that is why I got so emotional.  Our beliefs define who we are; they are what motivates us through our days.  I hold my beliefs so near and dear to me because they are the essence of me.