My First Performance Task as a 4th Year Student: Studying the Contemporary World

What's up, Hivers! It's makiyumee here! Today, I am going to be sharing to you about my first performance task as a 4th year college student. So, sit back, relax and bear with me as I tell you about my journey in preparing and presenting my first performance task in one of our courses.

First of all, we were given this performance work by our teacher last week. But I ended up putting it off because I had so much schoolwork along with necessary documents that needed to be completed. I promised myself I would get to it soon as the days went by, but there was always something else to do. The deadline was right in front of me before I realized it and then on that time, to my fear and panic, I also recalled that I had been selected to be the second presenter.

The thought of going so early, right after the first performance, weighed heavily on me. There seems to be a certain pressure associated with coming in second. Even if you're not the first to establish the the mood, you're close enough to the beginning that everyone is paying close attention to you.

I was frantically trying to put my PowerPoint together the night before my presentation, trying to make up for lost time. With every minute that went by, it felt like the clock was ticking faster, and here I was, rushing to finish something decent in time. Instead of the peaceful, carefully designed preparation I had imagined, it was a panic of late-night brainstorming brought on by the sudden urgency of the situation.

And so, the next day, I found myself staring into space as I studied the script for my presentation while my mind wasn't cooperating with me. I was so out of myself because of lack of enough sleep and preparation, my heart was beating so fast because of the thought that I might mess this up and my insides were tossing and turning making me feel nauseous to the point that I want to throw up. My nervousness and overthinking things were making me sick and scared.

My stomach was in knots because I was so nervous from lack of sleep that my nerves were like a hurricane inside of me. I had rushes of nausea, the kind that make you feel as though your insides are turning around, and I honestly thought that I may pass out at that very moment. I felt afraid and sick at the same moment, as if my anxiety had taken on a life of its own and penetrated into every part of my being. I couldn't seem to find the trust that I usually had, so all I could do was make an effort to quiet the storm that was inside of me and hope that I would make it through somehow.

The presentations started soon after, and as the minutes went by, my turn got closer. Before I knew it, the entire class was staring at me as I stood in front of them. My heart was racing, but I took a deep breath and told myself the one thing I had been holding onto: "Fake it until you make it." Those words replayed in my head, turning into my silent mantra and the one reassurance I needed at that particular time. I spoke to them again and again, as though they might somehow calm down the fears that were about to get out of control.

Even though my hands were trembling a little and my voice was trembling as I spoke, I forced myself to continue. I concentrated on keeping my cool, forcing myself to look composed even though my heart was beating hard my chest. I gripped desperately to the chant, which kept repeating in my head. It kept me centered while I made my way through my presentation, much like a lifeline. I hoped no one else noticed, but I attempted to ignore the shakes in my voice and hands with every line I said. I told myself over and over again that if I just acted confident, I may gradually begin to feel that way.

"Just a little more... I'm almost there," I murmured to myself as I got closer to the end of my presentation. Those words served as a sense of direction, guiding me through the waves of fear that threatened to overwhelm me. Even though I could feel the pressure of the situation pouring down, it strengthened my determination. I was determined to give it my all—not just for my teacher, whom I didn't want to disappoint, but also for myself. I was aware that this was my opportunity to demonstrate that the worry, sleeplessness, and late nights I had spent perfecting my presentation had not gone to nothing.

I gave every word my all to ensure that every point was understood, every slide had purpose, and every look was certain. I wanted to demonstrate that, in spite of everything that had gone wrong before, I was capable of handling this situation. Finishing was not the only goal; it was also about finishing well and giving a performance worthy of all the effort I had put into it.

I owed it to myself to accomplish something worthy of satisfaction during those tense hours. The idea of finishing and holding my head high at the finish line provided me all the motivation I needed. I was going to make the struggle worthwhile by ending on a positive note.

When all of the presentations were done it was time to answer the assessment questions. While our instructor was collecting our papers, he also gave us his comment and the words that stuck inside my mind were this, "Seeing all of your presentations earlier, you are all ready to become educators in the future." With just those words, I was so glad that our instructor was satisfied and happy with our first performance task.

That would be all for today, my dear Hivers! I hope you had fun reading my blog. See you all on the next one!