First Rant of '08! 1.30.08

I had a thought today. They sometimes happen. I was unprepared for a presentation today, and I stayed up all night throwing it together. I've learned how to give excellent presentations, and I've had roommates who were meticulous and wouldn't be satisfied with me practicing a few times with many flaws and calling it a night. So last night, and this morning, I knew I wasn't giving my all into this presentation. I also knew that from the professor's point of view, the presentation would be average, and I would get a decent grade for my performance.

I didn't have my introduction or my conclusion memorized, my information was listed mostly by dates so most sentences began with, "In 1457...", my handout was a full page single spaced (which is just too much to ask people to sort through), my inflection swung between being too high and being too low and soft, and I practically read all my information, with occasional, unnerving glances into the bored populace.

I knew what needed to happen to make this presentation amazing, and for one reason or another, I didn't do it. It doesn't matter that I got it over with, take my B grade back to my seat and let the teacher try to wake the class back up, I knew what I should have done. Because that's the way I've been trained.

There's a verse in the Bible that tells parents to train their children in the way they are supposed to go, so that the children will do it automatically when they grow up. But we're adults now. And it doesn't matter whether our parents trained us well or poorly, we are responsible for ourselves. Train yourself in the way you need to go, and when the time comes, regardless of other's standards, you will know what you're supposed to do. Whether you do it or not when the time comes, is up to you.