Today, my school held an Earth Science Symposium. It was a culmination of about five months of work by all the honor students, including me. We started at the end of last year with research on our topic, then wrote an article detailing our findings.

In late February, we started working on our Keynote shows, basically our paper in bullets with many more pictures. It was probably my favorite part of the project.

But then came the presentation. In order to practice, my teacher set aside class time to present in front of our peers. Being nervous, I talked quickly and my presentation was only 4 minutes, 40 seconds. The time rule was 6-8 minutes.

A few weeks later brings us to today. I woke up feeling confident. But when I walked into the school, I felt nervousness creeping up on me. What if my slide show isn’t on the computer? What if I use the remote wrong and go back a slide instead of forward? What if the timing of the show is too short or too long? What if…

11:00 drew nearer. I went to my presentation room (which was empty, everyone else was having a refreshment break) and checked my slide show. Everything was right. After a few experimental clicks with the remote, I felt more confident but still very nervous.

It was almost 11:00. Friends and peers drifted in. My mom came into the room. The judges took their places. It was time for the presentation to begin. I was nervous. However, after the first minute, I became confident. After all, I had researched and studied my topic, Theories of Earthquake Prediction, for five months.

So, despite my doubts, my presentation went well, clocking in at almost 7 minutes. I received a gold medal and a gift certificate to the mall. But that’s not all I took away from the symposium. I took away a life lesson, too. Confidence.

Now, I feel more confident. I reached a goal, and am sure that in the future, presentations will be easier to do and much more enjoyable.

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