“…speak your mind — even if your voice shakes.” – Maggie Kuhn
The single, most important, thing I’ve learned in my freshman year at UD is how useful and effective it can be to be upfront about your thoughts. Ranging from my social to my academic life, this one ideal has had such profound impacts on where I am now. Though still imperfect, I’ve striven to voice my opinions and just talk to others even when my irrational mind tells me not to.
My first memorable experience occurred when I went rock climbing for the first time in the cramped space I grew to love. I was immediately greeted with warm smiles at the door, as they instructed me on how to sign in and how to climb. From there on, I started making more friends at the rock gym as we bonded over many failed attempts on various climbs. Sometimes, they would start talking with me, and other times, I’d start talking to strangers too.
Next, incorporates the entirety of my interactions with my professors. It is often difficult for me to create relationships with professors but through small conversations and questions after class, I feel as if I’m less stressed about test material and more attentive in class. Furthermore, through voicing my interests over emails, I’ve been able to skip courses and attain a paid internship this summer.
The next time wasn’t exactly the result of me initiating conversation, but nevertheless the result of straightforward communication. On the first day of this class, I was shocked by how open the activity made me feel. Though shaky at first, I truly feel that new friendships spawned from such simple interactions. I included the title picture because of how memorable the experience was. It was really this experience that I realized how powerful one’s honest voice can be. Simply speaking your mind is the fastest way to reach the future.
English 110 Honors Spring 2020 
Ethan,
I loved reading your piece. I also believe that this class taught us many things, including having a voice. I think that this class became a comfortable environment for us. This in turn allowed many of us to share our unique opinions and present confidently to our peers. I really liked your sentence that read “Sometimes, they would start talking with me, and other times, I’d start talking to strangers too.” I feel as though I experienced this same thing throughout my freshman year. Sometimes in class other people would reach out to me in conversation. Other times, I had to be the first to speak. This taught me just how important and sometimes easy it is to communicate face-to-face with others. Lastly, I loved your final sentence because it ended your post on such a powerful and uplifting note.
Great work, good luck on finals!
~Caroline SanAngelo
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Ethan,
I really liked how you started off this post with a quote. Typical Ethan.
Reading this post made me really happy as I realized that I was able to see these changes in your personality. I really resonated with your second paragraph because that was exactly what drew me to climbing as well and I think it really helped me learn to approach new people and make new friends as well. I remember there would be times when I would force you to come to the rock wall with me and tell you that you had to talk to more people. Whenever I saw you talking to new people, I was super proud of you! I really liked the sentence, “Though shaky at first, I truly feel that new friendships spawned from such simple interactions.” I think that many small interactions that we have with people may seem meaningless but in reality leave a great impact on our lives. I feel like this class has helped not only you, but many people to find their voices and learn how to vocalize their opinions when necessary. Thanks for a great read~
Good luck with the rest of your semester!
~Joanna
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I am really happy for all the positive experiences you were able to have and attain simply from one thing: having a voice. “I’ve striven to voice my opinions and just talk to others even when my irrational mind tells me not to.” I could not say that any better. I have felt the exact same way for such a long time until this class, where I fight through that initial thought to voice my actual thoughts on a matter. Speaking our minds is essential for progress and improvement in many facets of life. Great post.
-Adam Bonar
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I clicked on this post because I saw the iconic picture from the beginning of the semester that we all laughed at as a class. I think it is so meaningful that you reused this image in order to reflect on the semester. While reading this post, I also realized how much my ability and eagerness to voice my opinion has also developed. I didn’t realize it at first, but after reading this post and some self-reflection, I can definitely agree with what you said. Great writing!
-Romy Patel
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