Paula L. was the First Toastmaster of the year, with Dilip G. and Brett S, acting as Guardian of the words( Grammarian) and Guardian of Time ( Timer) respectively.
The word of the day was “ Tenacious”.
Although New Year’s Resolutions represent a people’s desire for self improvement, about one third of respondents do not make them. One of the main reasons is that only about 8% stick to their resolutions. For Paula, making new year’s resolutions is more about the process of honest self examination and hope and she has a fairly good track record of meeting her goals mostly because most of her resolutions are things she really wants to do and that she does not look back if she forgets some of the other items.
She peppered a few of her resolutions throughout the meeting.
The First speaker of the day was Vamsi S. presenting his icebreaker speech titled” 30 years in 6 minutes” What does it mean to be the eldest son in an Indian family? As the eldest son of the family, Vamsi was made aware of his responsibilities towards his family and his siblings from a very young age. He shared his journey from India to Seattle where he now lives with his young family.
Speaker number two was Saher A. presenting CC project #3: Get to the Point ,titled “ Something to think about”. Saher spoke passionately about the importance of meaningful parent – child interaction which is critical for healthy development. Recent research indicates that the more time children between the ages of six months and two years sent using handheld screens such as smartphones, tablets and electronic games, the more likely they were to experience speech delays. That is why it is even more important that parents put smart devices away in favor of more traditional interactions through play, reading and story telling.
Our third and last speaker of the day was Isabella Z, presenting her CC project #3 titled “ Confidence” Isabella shared lessons learnt from an English oral exam she passed years ago, Using expressive gestures and dialogue she re-enacted her interactions with her examiner, painful and stressful at the time, but now, in hindsight, funny. If Isabella had to do it all again today, she would look at the examiner directly in the eyes, ask for clarification and take her time answering his questions. She would not shake as if she were facing a monster. She would relax, smile and tell him about one of her favorite movies instead. She would ace the test while having a good time.
Marti M, led the group into a spirited round of table topics, where she asked members of the audience to make new year’s resolutions for a celebrity of their choice, or whether there were repeated offenders in their list year after year, or whether they would ever accept to help someone keep their new year’s resolutions ( Unlike Bill, my answer would have been Yes, if I could make the resolution for that someone… and it would have been a silly one like: eat more pizza!).
Matt K. was voted best Table Topic. Zhou was voted best Evaluator.
Our next meeting is January 20th.
What do Mauritius Island, fashion design, Vaclav Havel, Poutine and the Emerald City have in common? Me! All these ways have led me to ( drum roll...) the Seattle Sunrise Toastmasters where friends and great speakers are made! I look forward to sharing my stories with you!
