Take it all with a grain of salt. Or a bucket of salt; that works too.

Okay, if you know me, you probably know I'm a reader. You might also know that I've been preparing for the nrtl oratory contest. So, obviously, what does a girl who loves speechifying and reading do while she is preparing to go to a national contest? She checks out books on speaking and then compiles a list of points to remember while preparing for and giving a speech. Duh. Unfortunately, I kind of ran into a problem. What type of problem you ask? Well, here's the list I compiled from about eight different books. [In my own words.]

•The easiest trick for remaining calm while speaking is to picture the audience naked. (Duh?)

•Never try to picture the audience naked. This can be distracting and it very rarely works. 

                                                             ~~~
•Always have water on hand, dry mouth effects even the most professional speakers.

•Dry mouth can not be cured by drinking water; you will just end up needing to use the bathroom. Instead you should try biting the inside of your mouth, or thinking about a juicy lemon. 

                                                            ~~~
•Never wear old clothes. You are more likely to have undiscovered holes, stains, or rips. Instead, wear something semi-new. 

•It is best to wear clothes you have worn a lot and are very comfortable with; you don't want to be
uncomfortable in what you are wearing.
                                                        ~~~

•Heels empower women; wearing them not only gives the more stature, but also more confidence. 

•Wearing heels is a silly and old-fashioned idea. Totally unnecessary. 

                                                      ~~~
•Telling jokes is a terrible way to open a speech because it can be nerve wracking if jokes fall flat, and also jokes can make a bad impression, depending on the setting. 

•Telling jokes puts your audience at ease, and shows everyone that you are comfortable in your own skin.

                                                      ~~~
•Eating a good meal before speaking is always advisable because you do not want to be thinking about food while giving a speech, and you also don't want your stomach growling.  

•Always give yourself two hours between eating and speaking. You don't want to have problems with what you've just eaten while on stage. 

                                                   ~~~
•Memorizing your speech is a bad idea because then it will sound stilted. 

•Memorizing your speech is the only way to go because notes distract and you don't want to go way over-time. 

*Sigh* So, what do you think? What advice should I listen to? :) I think the best advice I learned from any of the books is that it just takes experience.

Chocolate

Hey guys! Today I thought I'd post an update on chocolate, but I also would like to encourage you to consider a few things--more on that to come later. :)

The other day I realized that it has only been about a year since I decided to stop eating non-fair-trade chocolate, but then again, it seems kind of crazy that it's already been so long.

At first, I thought I'd never really be able to not eat chocolate. I mean, yeah, it is possible to find fair trade chocolate, but I don't really know anyone who stocks up their candy dishes with it. Plus, come on: it all tastes the same! Sometimes I would just forget, and then I would feel really bad. But then I sat down and wrote a post about only eating fair trade chocolate. In the process, I really had to look at my motivations. This turned out to be a really great thing because saying something and and sitting down and clarifying it for myself and anyone else are two different things.

So then I couldn't find anything fair-trade, and I just resigned myself to not eating chocolate ever. Thankfully, I found out a few months ago that wal-mart carries a fair-trade brand (green and blacks,) and although the bars are more expensive than others, they are way better, and have totally satisfied the few chocolate cravings I've had.

On a (rather long) side note, when I went back and re-read my first post about chocolate, and found I was really vague when it came to statistics. So I thought I'd actually give some facts, and just encourage you to think about what you consume.

75% of America's chocolate is sourced from the Ivory Coast, where over 15,000 child slaves are forced to work for little or no wages. They are there because they have been kidnapped or sold by family members, or are born into slavery. (BTW, the Ivory Coast is a country; it's circled in the picture below.)

I have also read that there are as many or more than 269,000 child slaves in surrounding countries in West Africa. This is just so sickening, and although I know most people like chocolate way too much to give most of it up just as a reminder to be thankful for what I have, and remember to try to make a difference, it's really opened my eyes.

People have asked me before why I have just quit eating chocolate. "There are so many other products that we buy every day that are produced in places where conditions are terrible, and don't you care about those too?" Or "do you really think you can make a difference?" Well, I know that if I tried to find out about everything we consume in just our household, I'd probably be opposed to just about everything in one form or another. But I can't possibly do that. That is not my mission. My mission is to raise awareness in those around me, and maybe plant a seed to get others thinking. I know that just my eating chocolate will not change the fact that there are literally millions of slaves in bondage today. But like I said in my last post, it's not about trying to change the world yet, it's about me. Do I really want to live life in an oblivious state? This is my reminder not to.

So, that is my update. HERE is my challenge. Take some time this month, and learn about a group of people who don't have it as good as you do. It doesn't matter if it's child slaves in Africa, or homeless families in New York. Find out about what they go through, and see if you can make a difference. If you don't think that you can really do much, think about simply changing your lifestyle. It can be something like I did in only supporting fair-trade chocolate and using it as a reminder that I am crazy blessed, or raising money for a specific cause. Even sending care packages to someone, or recycling boxes as a reminder that some people live in cardboard boxes. 

So, what are you going to do? 

Cheers, 

Lauren