Embrace our own uniqueness

As an undergraduate at USU, though I was a math major, I often took poetry reading or story telling as my electives.  I remember a poetry reading class taught by Barbara Hales.  The course was primarily for elementary education majors, and the course was designed to help them prepare materials to be used in the classroom.  One of the requirements of the course was to create a picture/poetry file – so you could read the attached poem while displaying the picture.   [I used that picture file for years in teaching primary or family home evening.]

Our final project was to design an educational unit of poetry and required a ten minute oral presentation in class, complete with a host of visual aids.  My presentation involved boxes, where students opened the boxes to get from one poem to the next.  I remember thinking it was a clever way to avoid displaying my lack of artistic ability.

The only other presentation I remember involved a display of animals carefully drawn by the presenter.  As she began to speak, it was clear she was very nervous. She spoke so quickly that you almost stopped breathing as you witnessed such a feat. When she sat down, the professor asked for comments as was the protocol for the presentations.

I sat there thinking, “ I am NOT going to introduce ‘the elephant in the room’.  There is no way I am going to levy that criticism on her." As a child, I was always told that I talked too fast.

Sunday school used to be a stand-alone meeting with its own opening exercises and passing of the sacrament.  Many members won’t remember this because of the consolidated meeting schedule instituted in 1980 which resulted in the elimination of Sunday School opening exercises.  With the dropping of opening exercises went a unique Mormon icon – the two and a half minute talk.  I’m not sure why the strange time limit.  I assume it seemed less intimidating to talk for such a short time.  My first exposure to public speaking came as a young child giving two and a half minute talks.  Under pressure, my carefully memorized and practiced two and a half minute talk was performed in under a minute.  While I must have received other comments for my efforts, the comment that was ever present was, “You talked too fast.”

Thus, as I sat there in the classroom, I deliberately refused to tell the presenter of the speed issue.  As expected, the first comment was on the rate of delivery. Professor Hales didn’t hesitate for a second as she exuberantly replied, “Yes. Wasn’t that delightful?  We are not all the same.  Some speak fast.  Some speak slow.  I loved the enthusiasm she brought to the presentation.”

I sat there at my seat with a lump in my throat.  What a wonderful message.  There is not one acceptable way.  Embrace our own uniqueness.