STORM2K

Right now, I am somewhat stressed and down about life in general.

This past week, I started Spring Semester at University of Nebraska-Omaha (UNO). For those not in the know, I am going into journalism.

Things went okay. This semester maybe a little challenging than last semester. First, I am taking Chemistry for my life/natural science requirement; last semester I had physical geography (including some weather), so this will be a little different. Thankfully, the teacher is one of the best at UNO, and the course is a very introductory course to chemistry and its relation to society and environment; in other words, it is very difficult to fail the course. But still, it is subject matter I have very little background in.

Second, is my personal fave...NOT...public speaking (speech). Again, the teacher is cool. Wednesday, I have to give a mini 1-2 minute speech about myself. Here is how I feel: Not necessarily nervous about getting in front of about 20 students and the instructor (it is in a very small room in a 'office building'-like structure). Why? Well, I will either have the entire class erupt into laughter (instructor included) when I begin to describe myself, or will have about 21 people snoring!

This leads into my third point: I am beginning to think I am not a very interesting individual. It is like I am invisible or something. The last time I ever went out with friends or dated a girl was........................August 2004. I am beginning to think nothing good can happen; I am going to be a lonely, depressed person or the rest of my life. I had it up until August when it was pertinent to let Emily (if you want a bit of a refresher course, just search for "Emily" with my username.) go due to her being a bit untruthful.

This past week, I have been questioning whether or not to continue striving for strong friendships/relationships.

Thanks for reading!

You sound like your self esteem is low and perhaps you're depressed?

Anyway, public speaking always gave me the willies until I felt confident in myself. It always helped in school if I did have a friend in that class so I could in essense feel like I was talking to him/her.

If you listen to the majority of the other people in the classroom while they are doing their speeches, you'll realize that some you will have a common interest with, but most importantly, their lives probably won't be anymore interesting than yours. Bring up your hobbies and what your interests are and I'll bet that there will be one or two that will probably have similar interests.

Hey there!! Well David.. here are my answers for ya:

1.) Yeah, chem is hard, but I sort of like it. If you need any help in it, I could help you.

2.) Public speaking is one of my strong points. Don't worry about what your audience will think!! Pretend the audience is people you know, your family, friends, and peers. You will do fine. Practice your speech before giving it as well.

3.) Not an interesting individual my butt David. Don't worry about being in a relationship right now. I have only had one girlfriend through out HS, and the first semester of college, and we broke up after two weeks. Don't worry, there are some girls there on campus who are watching you.

Hang in there. You will get through it! Every new start, be it new classes, new job, new relationship, seems overwhelming at first.

Tackle the new subject in an orderly fashion. Despite what is drilled into our heads from the very first class we take, it is not necessary to be a star in each and every subject. If it isn't your area of interest, concentrate on meeting the requirements. I'm not suggesting you set your sights low, but don't pressure yourself to much in to being perfect at all courses. It'll drive you nuts. I graduated with high honors and have yet to have an employer ask specifically about my GPA.

Speech class!! Ugh. My favorite hint is to ALWAYS volunteer to do your presentation first. Regardless of your topic, every single person who hasn't had their turn yet will be busily worrying about their own presentation and will pay absolutely no attention to yours.

Finally, and more importantly, it sounds like you need to make some time for yourself. Join a club or discussion group at your school. Go to the concerts or lectures that are offered. Stop by the Student Union and see what they have scheduled. Most Campus Life programs offer a variety of activities. Try them! You will be around other people and may find some who share your common interests. Don't get bogged down in to "finding" a girlfriend, just make some contacts. It will help.

Thanks for the kind replies (and additonal ones that may be posted). I seriously also think this has something to do with seasonal despression. It has been brutal here. During the week of Jan 2-8, we had a winter storm drop about 14'' of snow on us, and since then, it has been brutally cold (-10 to -20 wind chills) with not as much sunshine. Hopefully next week's warm up during the latter half of week comes to fruition...oops, getting into the weather sections. LOL

Emily, back in 2003, popped into my life when I was not even expecting it. I agree with you, Matt, that there are girls probably watching me out there on campus, but yet, could they come out of the woodwork...edit, the cinderblock, steel and brick and drywall?

I'm graduating from UWGB with a degree in Environmental Science and Earth Science... yup, had to do a full year of Chem and a semester of public speaking... fun classes to say the least. First semester Chem was ok, I understood that, but Chem II was another story... heck, I learned more from the book than the professor (who was always drunk)

In the long run, I'm going in to Broadcast MET... (I have my resume tape done already with intro, long range and exit--in both segments) public speaking sucks, and I was definitely camera shy at the beginning, but you can get over the fear... it will take some time... just be patient and enjoy yourself even if think your boring, remember... someone is ALWAYS listening.

If you think the condition is related to the weather , you may be right. Get you a bright light and sit in front of it for about 20 minutes every day in the early morning and see if that helps lift your spirits.

great one yet again? (something from a previous post rings a bell, the girl storm is familiar by midwest wx)

**sigh**

NEWeatherguy wrote:Right now, I am somewhat stressed and down about life in general.

We all get there.

NEWeatherguy wrote:Second, is my personal fave...NOT...public speaking (speech). Again, the teacher is cool. Wednesday, I have to give a mini 1-2 minute speech about myself. Here is how I feel: Not necessarily nervous about getting in front of about 20 students and the instructor (it is in a very small room in a 'office building'-like structure). Why? Well, I will either have the entire class erupt into laughter (instructor included) when I begin to describe myself, or will have about 21 people snoring!

Well, for me, the key to effective public speaking is to know your subject well. I always hated it in school. But if you get up there and know what you're talking about and show confidence that you know what you're talking about, then it doesn't matter whether you're talking to 2 people or 200.

Sounds like you don't have a whole lot of confidence in the subject, though. Maybe you can jot down some things about yourself and we can help spice it up. I don't know if I'll be too good at it, but we have some other people here who might be able to help as well. 1-2 minutes really isn't much time to fill -- most people won't say too much more than their name, where they live, where they were born, what they're studying, blah blah blah.

NEWeatherguy wrote:This leads into my third point: I am beginning to think I am not a very interesting individual. It is like I am invisible or something. The last time I ever went out with friends or dated a girl was........................August 2004. I am beginning to think nothing good can happen; I am going to be a lonely, depressed person or the rest of my life. I had it up until August when it was pertinent to let Emily (if you want a bit of a refresher course, just search for "Emily" with my username.) go due to her being a bit untruthful.

This past week, I have been questioning whether or not to continue striving for strong friendships/relationships.

Hmm... I don't know you, so I can't say. And I'm no expert in matters of the heart -- who is? -- but I remember this feeling well. I wasn't in a very good place in my life several years back, and I met someone and really fell for her (or at least I thought so). But nothing really materialized, and then she went back to her ex (I think), and it felt like someone close to me died. I look back on it 6+ years later and realize she did me a huge favor by walking away from me. She was more than a bit untruthful, and there would have been a lot of trouble. (And I found other things out later, as well.) But the hurt it caused hung around for a while, and I didn't realize it, but I needed a break from dating. Instead, I tried to jump right back in and promptly sabotaged every possible relationship I could have had for... oh... about 2 years, because they didn't make me feel like she did. Yeah, I was a prize.

Sounds to me like you might need the break that I never took. Don't focus on dating. Just try to meet people. Don't pass up social activities. Get out there. You become interesting by experiencing and learning new things. You're still looking for your niche. Nobody really finds it in college, but you will eventually. In the meantime, just stay active, participate, join clubs, get involved.

I know the feeling -- it's like you're looking at life through a one-way mirror, right? You can see everyone and they're all having a good time, but nobody can see you. But you're in college -- one of the best social outlets humankind has ever invented. Do not stand on the sidelines. I know this sounds like an easy answer to what you're feeling, but if I had one thing to change about my college days (and high school, for that matter), I would have been more active.

Oh, and another thing -- do not, do not, do not be afraid to show your intelligence. In college, everyone likes the smart kid in class. Why? Well.....

You never know who might want to study with you.

NEWeatherguy wrote:Thanks for the kind replies (and additonal ones that may be posted). I seriously also think this has something to do with seasonal despression. It has been brutal here. During the week of Jan 2-8, we had a winter storm drop about 14'' of snow on us, and since then, it has been brutally cold (-10 to -20 wind chills) with not as much sunshine. Hopefully next week's warm up during the latter half of week comes to fruition...oops, getting into the weather sections. LOL

Emily, back in 2003, popped into my life when I was not even expecting it. I agree with you, Matt, that there are girls probably watching me out there on campus, but yet, could they come out of the woodwork...edit, the cinderblock, steel and brick and drywall?

A friend of mine got a t-shirt when he started college that said "I'm Available", and it worked.

self worth comes from inside, and not what other people think of you. dont let your happiness be defined by others.

as far as girls go, you will have to force yourself to simply talk to them and interact with them. i can assure you, we often wish some guys would talk to us or engage in conversation, but we end up such as shy as them.

GRAB THREE RED BULLS AND A CUP OF ESPRESSO, THAT WILL DO THE TRICK..

rainstorm wrote:self worth comes from inside, and not what other people think of you. dont let your happiness be defined by others.

as far as girls go, you will have to force yourself to simply talk to them and interact with them. i can assure you, we often wish some guys would talk to us or engage in conversation, but we end up such as shy as them.

ABSOLUTELY!

rainstorm wrote:
as far as girls go, you will have to force yourself to simply talk to them and interact with them. i can assure you, we often wish some guys would talk to us or engage in conversation, but we end up such as shy as them.

A very rough cycle, to say the least!

NEWeatherguy wrote:

rainstorm wrote:
as far as girls go, you will have to force yourself to simply talk to them and interact with them. i can assure you, we often wish some guys would talk to us or engage in conversation, but we end up such as shy as them.

A very rough cycle, to say the least!

Here, read this: http://www.askmen.com/love/player/19_love_games.html

At the very least, it's an amusing read. How to use your wingmen, how to break one away from the pack, what NOT to do, etc. It's three pages -- make sure you read them all.

Things improved late last week, slightly. I met a girl in my Chemistry class. We were riding up the elevator, and she said "hi, aren't you in my chemistry class?" or something of that nature. Shockingly, SHE introduced herself first, out of the blue!

Hopefully, the warmer temperatures coming early this next week (40s to near 50) help a little too!

That's the signal. Good luck!

Black Monday is in two weeks for two reasons:

1. The obvious
2. And my FIRST Informative Speech on a process -- Have gone with something everybody here likes--the life cycle of a tornado! I am just a bit nervous, understandably. I plan to have a PowerPoint running with simple diagrams on it--perhaps made from scratch! (That will cut down on my works cited page. )

I started this thread about two weeks ago. Not much as happened in relation to #1 above, but a few things. That girl Colleen in my chem. class still talks to me. Also, when I walking between classes today, another girl, Britten, who is also in my CHem. class and lab, began to talk to me out of the blue!

Cautious optimism with the fact that I am a likable person!