I inherited the "Brilliant" gene.

So as you know, I am taking two Communication courses, both of which involve Public Speaking. Since you all know me, you know that I am never shy, always talkative (even to strangers) and have no problem starting up a conversation. But there has always been something extremely scary to me when it comes to standing in front of a class with a group of recent strangers to talk in front of, especially when you are video taped. I don't know why, it certainly isn't in my personality to get nervous to speak.

So anyway, we had our first major speech today in one of my classes. It's called the "3-Object Speech." We were assigned to bring in 3 objects that represent or symbolize some things about ourselves. It was a timed 4-6 minute speech that is recorded for your own viewing and analysis. Now, I feel extremely awkward talking about myself when there hasn't been a question asked. So I'm basically giving out this free information about myself that most people will remember. I didn't want to talk about things that have touched my life, I didn't want to talk about the past, present and future simply because I have a lot of past and a lot of present that will lead me to my future, so I decided to call my mom. Mom knows what to do, Mom knows me if not better than I know myself and, of course, Mom is brilliant. She tells me to bring my teeth (a.k.a. my smile). I'm thinking to myself "well, I bring those with me every day..." But this gave me a great thought, hence the theme of my 3-Object Speech... "Things that make me smile, bring laughter to my heart, and keep the good karma coming." I'm thinking this is perfect. People will get to know me through my smile, my laughter, my positive energy and my ability to make people laugh; people will remember me as the happy gal in class.

So, three speeches went before me. The first two, oh God. We're talking Stage-Five Cry Babies. They both talked about things that have made wonderful and beautiful differences in their lives, things that have truly touched them. Certainly very sweet, but those two are now labeled as the girls who cried. This is what my confirmed my belief in my brilliance of my speech. My speech was going to leave a good mark. The speech directly before me was made by a guy who loves to brew beer. Needless to say, I felt pretty good.

I got up there and got a little shaky at first, like I always do when giving a speech. And I started off with some class interaction. I said... "OK, I'm gonna start off with a fun fact about myself. I love to smile and I love to laugh. Show of hands, who else in here loves to smile and laugh?" People raised their hands and I told them to raise them higher because it's something to love. I then proceed to say "I've always admired the quote 'a smile is a curve that sets everything straight' said by an anonymous person." I mean... really. I already had the audience paying attention to me because I made them participate. Classic. Two points for Lauren.

I go on to say "When trying to compile some thoughts and ideas about what I was to bring and talk about today, I had to call my mom to ask her what I should do. She told me to bring my smile, and I'm thinking to myself... 'well I bring my smile every day' so instead, I decided to talk about things that make me smile, bring laughter to my heart and keep the good karma going. Some of this stuff seems a bit corny to me but corny is definitely a part of my life and my personality so I'm going to take it and run with it in hopes that I can put a smile on your face, too." Bingo Bango Bongo. I'm so good.

"My first object I brought in is a picture of three different flags: the Italian flag, Mexican flag and Swedish flag. Seems a bit confusing, but I can look at these flags and recall my childhood and my upbringing. I can remember my large, loud Italian family gathered around the dinner table, I can recall my pride-wearing Mexican family during holidays, and I can look back on the wonderful day trips to Sea World and the neighborhood parks with my nannies while of course getting in trouble, but never really getting in trouble with my parents. I can remember my youth and always feel good about where I come from. I can also look at these flags and be reminded about my travels. My desire to travel was first sparked when my family and I went to Sweden the summer before my 6th grade year. Since then, I've been to 12 other countries in Europe and hope to explore more of the world in the near future. I guess you could say that I can always rely on my childhood to look back on and my travels to look forward to for a good, goofy grin." This is so money, it's ridiculous.

"The second object I brought in is the 'Music and Lyrics" dvd - not so much about the movie itself because it's mediocre. But I can read the title 'Music and Lyrics" and know that it equals dancing for me. I don't dance professionally, but I love to dance. I have grown up in a family of "private performers" and just recently, my mom, dad, sister and I, even my dog, blasted some tunes in our house and we all started dancing. My dad was doing some cool, self-invented moves, my mom was going crazy and my sister was imitating everyone from Earth, Wind and Fire to the Commodores all the way to Lil' Wayne because she's ghetto like that. And we're all cracking up, laughing at each other, laughing at ourselves and having a great time. And I love that I can rely on my family for the never-dull moments. This dvd also represents my favorite movies because nothing cures a bad day like watching your favorite movie. I'm talkin' movies like Hook, Ferngully, Wedding Crashers...there is nothing like poppin' in my favorite movies for a desireable laugh. I can also look at this and recall my musical past. Being that I'm from such a creative and colorful family, it was only necessary that my parents put me in a musical singing group when I was younger. And I remember a big "Raggity Anne" solo of mine with my wig and red-painted cheeks and looking up at the sun and sneezing in front of a large, laughing audience into the microphone, which was totally embarrassing because I was supposed to be the Janet Jackson diva. But at least I know that I have people to share my laughter and smiles with and can always laugh at myself, too." Seriously, I'm impressed with myself.

"The third object I brought in, and this seems really silly, is a tin of chocolate chip cookies. There is nothing like a good chocolate chip cookie and I can look at these and think of my mom. I remember my sister, mom and I huddled around this cookie-dough bowl and my mom pouring in the ingredients while I stirred with my really cool stirring stick while my sister ate anything that went into the bowl. I can remember that corny song my mom would sing about who was stealing the cookies from the cookie jar and I just know that this is my heart smile. I can also look at these cookies and acknowledge my taste buds. My taste buds get me through the rough times because at the end of a bad day, they know exactly what I need to make me feel better. And there is nothing like having the melted chocolate morsels on my tongue to welcome me to the 'world of good.'" Everyone was laughing and so was I. I felt great.

"So I brought these random and corny objects to class and have talked about things from my life that have helped me smile, laugh and feel good. All these things are precious to me because without them, I might have ended up a frowning wallflower instead of a woman who dances to her own chocolate-induced rhythm while laughing at herself. It's been fun sharing all of this with you and I thank you for smiling with me."

Everyone was laughing and smiling, I got a round of applause and everyone's hands immediately went up asking if I was going to share the cookies... well of course I was, that's why I brought them. See, it's all about strategy. Anyway, the teacher commented to the class about the lesson we learned today. She said "take this lesson home with you, a bite into a chocolate chip cookie opens you to the world of good." I started laughing and the teacher did too which totally made me feel confident about my delivery of the speech. And then some students turned to me and asked me if I could bring my family in for show and tell because they sound really really funny. This, everyone, was a killer combo. Teacher comments, student comments, and then the cookies. Wow, I killed it.

Good news is that I get to keep the dvd that my speech was recorded onto. I'm going to try to copy it onto my computer and post it up here for you guys to watch. And what's even better... I have to deliver the same speech to my other Communication class on Thursday. My speech today was a great opener to the relationships I will have with my fellow classmates. I won't be known as the cry baby or the beer brewer. I will be known as the giggly girl who has a fun family and loves cookies. It's exciting energy. Oh... and... Thanks for smiling with me today.





By the way, I watched this speech given by a 10 year old student in front of a crowd of 20,000 teachers and school staff. If only we all had courage like this kid. He cracks me up!