Life In A Bag Reflection

I survived my first speech in Speech 101 this past week.  The speech consisted of bringing four personal items in a bag to class and talking about how they related to my life.  To prepare, I practiced tirelessly and made sure I knew the exact order of my items, their key points, and the overall direction of my speech.  The entire time in class before the speech (as well as the class I had before that) was nerve-wracking.  I was so afraid to go up there and talk to a bunch of strangers about my personal life.  I also began to rethink what I had brought and was afraid people might get a negative perception of me based on the items in my bag.  I was starting to feel calm as the other speeches were in progress.  Then, it was my turn.  My heart was beating fast and I was shaking inside.  However, after I began to talk I felt more self-confident.  By the end of the speech, I could feel my confidence over-flowing and the relief that the whole ordeal was over.  Overall, I felt great about the job I did.  My volume and enthusiasm was very on-point.  On the other hand, I did rely on some filler words to break silence such as "um".  It's so hard to get out of that habit!  I also could have varied my expressions and gestures a bit.  Aside from that, I'm very proud of myself.