"I wish we could just pass this course without needing to come before these supervisors; to make things worse, I still battle with stage fright." Dera said
"Truth be told, I thought I had worked on my fear of coming before crowds, but this seminar defense is making me really nervous and anxious at the same time. I wish for the same thing.". I responded
This conversation started immediately when our course representative sent a message on our WhatsApp group disclosing the date for our seminar defense as well as the venue. Seeing this put everyone under pressure, especially given the fact that one has to defend their work before both fellow students and lecturers, and we all wished we had just the lecturers to deal with. I could feel my heart beating faster than normal. I already tried to picture myself before the crowd and wished I could really escape it, but it is a criteria that has been in existence for years, and before graduating college here, you must pass through it.
"I will be going to see my supervisor on Monday, so he can correct and approve my work because the deal day is really drawing near." I told Dera
"It is funny that I have not even started my own, and the date is already this close. I will start tonight, and definitely I will meet up." Dera responded
"At least you have one week; it's enough, though you will be under pressure, but you can do it." I responded to Dera.
On Monday morning, I called my supervisor, and he asked me to come to his office. He made corrections and asked me to go ahead and print three copies of my work.
"Your abstract is bad; it should be a single paragraph and should be like a summary of your work; also, your citations should be between 2000 and last year; aside from this, you are good to go," my supervisor said.
"Thank you, sir." I said this as I left the office.
I printed my work and tried to read it up so as to be able to say something when asked, which I know is something that will definitely happen, so I just needed to be prepared. Though I felt too lazy to read it, I still had to read it in order to avoid getting embarrassed. On deal day, the lecturers were so serious and kept bombarding everyone with questions. I kept rehearsing and feeling like I was ready until I was called upon, and setting my eyes on the crowd, I realized I wasn't ready.
"So tell us about your research topic and what you discovered while carrying out your research," one of the lecturers asked.
"The role of food packaging in food processing is my topic, and it plays a vital role in the food processing industry, as we all know." I discussed my topic, and at some point I started trembling, seeing the eyes of friends and the lecturers.
"So what is the difference between food packaging and food storage?". Another lecturer asked
"Food packaging deals with putting the food in enclosed materials like bottles and cans, while food storage deals with the methods used to keep food safe, for example, refrigeration." I responded with a shaky voice.
"I like the fact that you managed to regain composure after losing it; your presentation was good. You can go." The lecturer said
"Thank you, sir." I said it with a smiley face as I left the stage.
Despite the scary crowd, I managed to achieve my goal, and the compliment from the lecturer helped me feel at peace. That is how I had my run through the gauntlet, and hopefully in the end it will be rewarding.
All images used are mine.