Oral Presentation

Listening is one of the hardest things to do in life. To be open and receptive of opinions and criticism, in my opinion, is a virtue and not something everybody can do. The perception and pinion of others towards you can, in most cases, be hard to handle, may come to you as a shock and even stir up emotions. When you listen or talk about yourself you can find yourself in an uncomfortable situation. You don't know how people will react or feel about you. On the other hand, then you receive positive feedback, or if what people think and say goes in some way with your train of thought, then you have no problem listening to others perception. 

As part of my English literature course we were assigned to prepare a presentation on the online perception of Puerto Rico. My group and I decided to research specific interesting topics on which we could find various perceptions to discuss. I picked the online perception of the criminality in Puerto Rico. We all know how bad things are in Puerto Rico. But we have to admit there are definitely worse. Also, criminality in Puerto Rico is something to be very concerned about, but not to the extent that you can’t go out with your family and/or friends. Or to the point that tourists have to worry if they come here. If you take care of yourself and know where to go, you'll definitely be safe and will have an enjoyable experience in Puerto Rico. Although that is my personal opinion, others obviously think otherwise. While some think that Puerto Rico is worth nothing because of high criminality rates, and others believe with all their heart that we would be nothing without the help of the U.S. Government, the overall impression I had from researching online is that outsiders have no clue of what’s going on in Puerto Rico. They all mostly go on what they see on TV, or from their one week vacation experience. The only thing I’ll say to those ignorant opinions is to get your facts right. Read, come visit the REAL Island and have a real Puerto Rican experience. There’s much more to us than what you see on the news, and the island goes way beyond what Yelp, Trip Advisor and any travel website can let you know.

So… After doing all of that work, we ended up presenting our findings to our classmates, and later on in a class conference of the English department. I have to say it was a very interesting experience. I had never presented in a conference outside of my field of study. I can definitely say I had fun doing the work and enjoyed presenting it. That being said, I would like to conclude with saying that, maybe hearing other peoples perception of you isn't for everybody. But for those who are strong enough to listen and respond, I ask that you stand up for what you believe in and to defend whats yours with pride.