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Editorial & Opinion Editorial Big presentation tomorrow? Fuggedaboutit!
Mohamad Yahia Hamade Editor-in-Chief As per tradition, at the end of every semester professors seem to gang up and bludgeon students with projects and presentations - as if we do not have enough things to do already during the last week of classes. Imagine this scenario: You are in the classroom, the same one you have spent every day during the past semester week in, week out. You are suddenly in front of the whole class. You look around and see yourself overwhelmed by the number of people surrounding you; and at this point you being to feel uneasy and confused. Out of despair, you try to control yourself and begin your presentation nothing like you originally planned. You are not alone. This happens to more people that you think at one point of their lives. It does not matter if the setting is in classroom or a meeting with a professor. It is painfully uncomfortable to present your work to a room full of people you never actually got to know, especially if you want to be well received. Standing in front of a classroom full of strangers and addressing them does not seem to be appealing at this point. This feeling of uneasiness is more common than you think. The cool kids that seem to be nonchalant and even your professors have it.
Some people are just better at hiding their insecurities and fear of public speaking What makes you uneasy when you are placed in a situation which requires public speaking is the fear of rejection. Again, I would like to remind you are not alone here. Many great people have been rejected at some point of their lives. Some people were even slapped into submission. It is really not the end of the world if you sweat and jitter a little, you are human after all. Try looking at it this way, “the spider is more afraid of you than you are of it.” There is nothing wrong with you. It is not your personality; it is the lack of self confidence. This is a negative trait that can be easily eliminated. Know your material before hand and practice it. Your not an improv actor, so you should practice. This will definitely make your presentation perfect. Always plan for the unexpected, it will keep you prepared for the worst case scenario you could imagine. Remember to breathe, air is your friend. Take a deep breath when you are nervous and fuggedaboutit. That will transform your nervousness into enthusiasm. I have always noticed that the less you obsess about the fear of public speaking, the better your presentation will be. Keep a stiff upper lip and form a practical consideration of the final outcome. What is the worst thing that could happen? I have never heard of anyone dying from a few frowns and yawns in the audience. And remember, just like Alan Shore once said, “Those who do not like you fall into one of two categories: the stupid and the envious.”
Op-Ed
Maya Terro Pandora... “I see you.”
Want to hear a secret? Here goes. The last time I set foot in a movie theater and actually watched a movie was like two years ago. You’re probably wondering why. Well, to be frank , I have a little theory that goes something like this, ‘‘Ain’t no movie out there worth going to the movies for when you can get it on
Op-Ed
التعاسة قد ختمت على قلبي في حلظة ٍ من اللحظات وجعلتني أخسر أشياء كثيرة. ال تسمحوا لإلحباط أن,وفي زبدة احلديث يتغ ّلب عليكم وإن أُقفلت جميع األبواب في وجوهكم ال تفقدوا األمل وابحثوا عن أبواب أخرى وستفتح لكم آفاق أكبر ألنكم بذلتوا يجب علينا أن.جهدكم في البحث عنها فما، نتقبل احلياة كما هي بحلوها وم ّرها قد يكوني حديثي ضربًا من.ضاقت إالّ لتفرج ضروب اخليال وقد تفكرون بأ ّن احلياة ليست السهولة ولكن صدقوني إن ج ّربتم ّ بهذه عيشوا.ما أقول ستكتشفون صحة قولي ّ متتعوا و،حياتكم ،تذكروا ابتسامة للحياة تكفي لنمضي...
DVD.’’ But that theory died the day I watched Avatar. I’m sure by now the majority of you have watched this heck of an amazing movie (If not, I highly advise you to do so ASAP). For me, watching the movie was a part of a promise I made to my little brother and sister, a promise to which I am so thankful that I have kept. The movie, set in 2015, basically tells the story of Pandora, a moon in the Alpha Centuauri star system. In the core of this planet lies tons of reserves of a precious mineral which humans are engaged in mining (typical greedy-human-scenario).It just so happens, however, that the Na’vis –a race of indigenous humanoidsare against this whole colonist-expansion concept since it threatens the existence of the Pandoran ecosystem and subsequently the continued existence of their species. So the idea is somehow a cliché, but seriously what really made me fall in love with this movie is the reality of it and I don’t just mean it being 3D. Sure, there was a time when I was literally reaching out to grab falling tree leaves only
تر الوجود جميال َِ ًكن جميال ً جتد أحد الطلاّ ب قد أ ّدى اختبارا,الدراسى ّ في ما ّدة معينة اّإل أنّه لم يو ّفق ونال عالمة قمة التّعاسة ويتخيل بأنّه ّ جتده في،متدنّية ّ لن يحالفه,مهما فعل ومهما درس ً احلظ أبدا في تلك املادة ويبرر قائالً ( ما فاتت براسي وال )!راح تفوت. فأظن كلنا نعيش على اإليحاءات النفسية ّ ّ أ ّن هذا الطالب لو قال لنفسه كل يوم بأنه سيتحسن وسيحقق أفضل مستوى في ولكنه دخل في,لتم له ما أراد ّ هذه املادة مغارة اإلحباط ولم يجد سبيالً للخروج التعاسة واإلحباط شيئان متالزمان.منها .فإن غمرنا اإلحباط غمرتنا التّعاسة وهكذا ًفي نظري التعاسة ليست موجودة أصال نحن من نخلقها ونحن من نرضى ألنفسنا أن نعيش في بوتقتها. أنا ال أ ّدعي الكمال وال أ ّدعي بأنني لم أعش يوما ً في حفر التّعاسة ولكنني اذا استرجعت شريط حياتي كثيرًا ما ألوم نفسي أل ّن
to notice that I was reaching out for the screen. But, come to think about it, Earth was once a Pandora in itself, but then we wanted to make money out of it, and we did, but we lost Earth on the way. I was so into the movie that I wished I could someday turn into an Avatar and visit Pandora. Why? Simply because after watching this movie, it became so clear to me that Pandora is the place where I would like to spend the rest of what’s left of my life—I want to be friends with nature, with its creatures, its colors, its every little living and non-living thing. I want to sleep under a gazillion star only to wake up surrounded by a zillion tree with the sweet scent of wet grounds underneath my feet and the sight of a clear blue sky above me. Lights back on. The movie ends—reality right in your face again! Seriously, sometimes I wish I was an Avatar. But wait, what’s real is only real if you want it to be so. All it takes is a bit of imagination, and-swoosh- Pandora I see you!
فاطمة بوحليقة ملاذا نيأس؟ ملاذا نشعر في حلظات مع ّينة بأنّنا أتعس خلق اهلل؟ ملاذا يش ّلنا هذا الشعور أحياناً؟ ملاذا نقبل أن يسيطر على عقولنا وقلوبنا؟ للحظات نشعر بأ ّن احلياة توقفت وأ ّن ما اقترفناه في تلك اللحظة،حد ما ّ عند لن يتغ ّير بل سوف نبقى ندفع ثمن فعلتنا ترسم لنا مخيلتنا أشياء.طوال حياتنا وهم ّية وهذه األشياء هي التي تش ّلنا وجتعلنا ّ ،حظنا التعيس محبطني فنندب بذلك ونحاول حينها أن جند أسخف املبررات حتمل غلطتنا ّ لنخفف عن أنفسنا عبء ّ فكل ،ًالتي من املفترض اّأل نعتبرها خطا لكن الذكي فينا هو ّ إنسان يرتكب األخطاء من يستفيد من أخطاءه ويحاول اّأل يكررها مرارًا. ّ في داخل كل واحد منا ق ّوة كامنة يستطيع من خاللها أن يغ ّير األشياء من حوله وأن يراها جميلة ومثمرة مهما كانت مؤملة وباعث ًة فعلى سبيل املثال وعلى صعيد،لالحباط