This course has been both incredibly insightful as well as challenging for me. At the beginning of the semester, I set myself the goal to become more confident speaking in front of a large audience. While I feel I have made some progress and am proud of my growth, there are definitely areas for improvement. Initially, I found it extremely awkward to maintain eye contact with the audience and struggled with maintaining my train of thought while standing in front of an audience, feeling vulnerable and exposed. However, throughout the semester, I have managed to overcome this by transforming my nervous energy into a positive force. Before speaking, I constantly remind myself that I am the most knowledgeable person in the room and all I am doing is sharing that information with the class. In addition, rather than think of myself as feeling nervous, I think of myself as enthusiastic and excited. This has helped tremendously with my confidence and even seems to help me become more focused an