(Final) Stage 6: Down Memory Lane

Today's itinerary advice: Every experience can be a lesson - it's much easier to see afterwards than in the moment.

          This project will feel officially over after all the presentations are done (so, in about ten hours). My presentation was two days ago. And I know it wasn't my best, in terms of poise and fluidity. I felt good about my slideshow and script, but I didn't expect my nerves to be that bad. I had just done a solid run-through that morning, but once I got on the stage, my brain simply glitched. Some parts were smooth, but a few times my brain completely blanked. I generally try not to rely on notecards, so I never properly practiced with them. This meant that even though I had them with me on stage, I couldn't use them very well to help me. I might work on that for the future.

          I am happy with the message and general ideas I decided on. I'm not sure how successful I was in clarifying everything to the audience, but I'm happy with what I meant. This goes with my realization that I learned more preparing for the presentation than I did the entire rest of the time. In my presentation, I mentioned how this project allowed me to learn more than just a mechanical skill. I also faced issues with the ability to multitask, improvise, and be confident and brave. The first four weeks consisted of the mechanical skill, but planning the final presentation made me really think through the whole process. I realized all the lessons I talked about. Of course, just learning to make balloon animals would have been pretty cool by itself anyway.

          My biggest struggle was being inefficient. It sounds odd, but I had a repeated problem of losing track of time and just having fun making them. While this wasn't terrible, balloon animals are generally used in line work, in which efficiency is key. The bright side to this is that I just need more practice and experience.

          I am definitely going to put this skill to use on my mission trip this summer, and I might use it for some other things as well. They do make pretty fun presents (the below were made for teachers).

 

          I suppose I'll end on the same note as my presentation. Right now is a perfect time to shake out the nerves and try new things. This process would not have been nearly as fun if I hadn't shared it with my friends - getting feedback on my project, as well as keeping up with theirs. Since we all need someone we can count on, I made a little friend to show this (tutorial here):