(New guest post from Elijah Adams, whose duo partner Jared we've met before. Enjoy his thoughts on something we can all relate to.)
Hello, homeschoolers (if that’s what I’m supposed to call you guys)!I am Elijah Adams, and this is my second year of Stoa. What is Stoa, you might be asking. Well, it is-wait. This blog is for Stoa-goers. I forgot. Silly me. Ahem.
Judges. Don’t give me that look. We’ve all dealt with weird judges. You know, the community judge that chooses who wins the round by whoever looks the nicest or the alumni who goes for a double-loss because you didn’t look at your opponent during Cross-Examination? Both of those are the judges that make you want to gnash your teeth because you lost round because that guy before you had a better tie than you? Ugh. These judges can be annoying. They can be aggravating. Heck, you might even want to storm into the judges’ lounge and give that judge a piece of your mind and tell them WHY THEY ARE DOING IT WRONG. Anyway, you worked for MONTHS preparing this speech. You waited to go up and speak while your stomach did somersaults. Then you go in, do your best effort, and WHAT do you get? You get a “Fifth and Below” because your suit had a wrinkle in it! But you must remember that these judges are as nervous as you are. Even more so, in fact. They are TERRIFIED that they might misjudge you and break your heart. They are PETRIFIED that you will forever dislike them for their comments. That they are RUINING your Speech career by telling you that you need to work on inflection. These community judges are new to this. They don’t know what they’re doing. They are probably lost and confused. But you have had months to prepare your speech (or weeks, if you’re like me). They just showed up the morning of the tournament ready to listen. Judges. Don’t give me that look. We’ve all dealt with weird judges. You know, the community judge that chooses who wins the round by whoever looks the nicest or the alumni who goes for a double-loss because you didn’t look at your opponent during Cross-Examination?Both of those are the judges that make you want to gnash your teeth because you lost round because that guy before you had a better tie than you? Ugh. These judges can be annoying. They can be aggravating. Heck, you might even want to storm into the judges’ lounge and give that judge a piece of your mind and tell them WHY THEY ARE DOING IT WRONG. Anyway, you worked for MONTHS preparing this speech. You waited to go up and speak while your stomach did somersaults. Then you go in, do your best effort, and WHAT do you get? You get a “Fifth and Below” because your suit had a wrinkle in it! But you must remember that these judges are as nervous as you are. Even more so, in fact. They are TERRIFIED that they might misjudge you and break your heart. They are PETRIFIED that you will forever dislike them for their comments. That they are RUINING your Speech career by telling you that you need to work on inflection. These community judges are new to this. They don’t know what they’re doing. They are probably lost and confused. But you have had months to prepare your speech (or weeks, if you’re like me). They just showed up the morning of the tournament ready to listen.
Both of those are the judges that make you want to gnash your teeth because you lost round because that guy before you had a better tie than you? Ugh. These judges can be annoying. They can be aggravating. Heck, you might even want to storm into the judges’ lounge and give that judge a piece of your mind and tell them WHY THEY ARE DOING IT WRONG. Anyway, you worked for MONTHS preparing this speech. You waited to go up and speak while your stomach did somersaults. Then you go in, do your best effort, and WHAT do you get? You get a “Fifth and Below” because your suit had a wrinkle in it!
But you must remember that these judges are as nervous as you are. Even more so, in fact. They are TERRIFIED that they might misjudge you and break your heart. They are PETRIFIED that you will forever dislike them for their comments. That they are RUINING your Speech career by telling you that you need to work on inflection.
These community judges are new to this. They don’t know what they’re doing. They are probably lost and confused. But you have had months to prepare your speech (or weeks, if you’re like me). They just showed up the morning of the tournament ready to listen.
These judges can be annoying. They can be aggravating. Heck, you might even want to storm into the judges’ lounge and give that judge a piece of your mind and tell them WHY THEY ARE DOING IT WRONG. Anyway, you worked for MONTHS preparing this speech. You waited to go up and speak while your stomach did somersaults. Then you go in, do your best effort, and WHAT do you get? You get a “Fifth and Below” because your suit had a wrinkle in it!But you must remember that these judges are as nervous as you are. Even more so, in fact. They are TERRIFIED that they might misjudge you and break your heart. They are PETRIFIED that you will forever dislike them for their comments. That they are RUINING your Speech career by telling you that you need to work on inflection. These community judges are new to this. They don’t know what they’re doing. They are probably lost and confused. But you have had months to prepare your speech (or weeks, if you’re like me). They just showed up the morning of the tournament ready to listen.
Well, before we begin, I’d like to say that I like reader involvement. I’m also an interper at heart. So, while you’re reading, please read the CAPITALS as shouting. Thanks! (Please don’t ACTUALLY shout. That’s not the best idea…) All lame starters, introductions, and disclaimers aside, let’s begin.
So please be nice to them. Give them grace. Don’t flip your chair. You need them to get to NITOC. It’s not your speaking that gets the checkmarks. It’s the judges who assign them. So just be patient. There are more tournaments. Speaking of which, I think I see the S.S. Concordia on the horizon. I should get ready for it. Onward, S.S. Paradigm!
Hello, homeschoolers (if that’s what I’m supposed to call you guys)!I am Elijah Adams, and this is my second year of Stoa. What is Stoa, you might be asking. Well, it is-wait. This blog is for Stoa-goers. I forgot. Silly me. Ahem.
Judges. Don’t give me that look. We’ve all dealt with weird judges. You know, the community judge that chooses who wins the round by whoever looks the nicest or the alumni who goes for a double-loss because you didn’t look at your opponent during Cross-Examination? Both of those are the judges that make you want to gnash your teeth because you lost round because that guy before you had a better tie than you? Ugh. These judges can be annoying. They can be aggravating. Heck, you might even want to storm into the judges’ lounge and give that judge a piece of your mind and tell them WHY THEY ARE DOING IT WRONG. Anyway, you worked for MONTHS preparing this speech. You waited to go up and speak while your stomach did somersaults. Then you go in, do your best effort, and WHAT do you get? You get a “Fifth and Below” because your suit had a wrinkle in it! But you must remember that these judges are as nervous as you are. Even more so, in fact. They are TERRIFIED that they might misjudge you and break your heart. They are PETRIFIED that you will forever dislike them for their comments. That they are RUINING your Speech career by telling you that you need to work on inflection. These community judges are new to this. They don’t know what they’re doing. They are probably lost and confused. But you have had months to prepare your speech (or weeks, if you’re like me). They just showed up the morning of the tournament ready to listen. Judges. Don’t give me that look. We’ve all dealt with weird judges. You know, the community judge that chooses who wins the round by whoever looks the nicest or the alumni who goes for a double-loss because you didn’t look at your opponent during Cross-Examination?Both of those are the judges that make you want to gnash your teeth because you lost round because that guy before you had a better tie than you? Ugh. These judges can be annoying. They can be aggravating. Heck, you might even want to storm into the judges’ lounge and give that judge a piece of your mind and tell them WHY THEY ARE DOING IT WRONG. Anyway, you worked for MONTHS preparing this speech. You waited to go up and speak while your stomach did somersaults. Then you go in, do your best effort, and WHAT do you get? You get a “Fifth and Below” because your suit had a wrinkle in it! But you must remember that these judges are as nervous as you are. Even more so, in fact. They are TERRIFIED that they might misjudge you and break your heart. They are PETRIFIED that you will forever dislike them for their comments. That they are RUINING your Speech career by telling you that you need to work on inflection. These community judges are new to this. They don’t know what they’re doing. They are probably lost and confused. But you have had months to prepare your speech (or weeks, if you’re like me). They just showed up the morning of the tournament ready to listen.
Both of those are the judges that make you want to gnash your teeth because you lost round because that guy before you had a better tie than you? Ugh. These judges can be annoying. They can be aggravating. Heck, you might even want to storm into the judges’ lounge and give that judge a piece of your mind and tell them WHY THEY ARE DOING IT WRONG. Anyway, you worked for MONTHS preparing this speech. You waited to go up and speak while your stomach did somersaults. Then you go in, do your best effort, and WHAT do you get? You get a “Fifth and Below” because your suit had a wrinkle in it!
But you must remember that these judges are as nervous as you are. Even more so, in fact. They are TERRIFIED that they might misjudge you and break your heart. They are PETRIFIED that you will forever dislike them for their comments. That they are RUINING your Speech career by telling you that you need to work on inflection.
These community judges are new to this. They don’t know what they’re doing. They are probably lost and confused. But you have had months to prepare your speech (or weeks, if you’re like me). They just showed up the morning of the tournament ready to listen.
These judges can be annoying. They can be aggravating. Heck, you might even want to storm into the judges’ lounge and give that judge a piece of your mind and tell them WHY THEY ARE DOING IT WRONG. Anyway, you worked for MONTHS preparing this speech. You waited to go up and speak while your stomach did somersaults. Then you go in, do your best effort, and WHAT do you get? You get a “Fifth and Below” because your suit had a wrinkle in it!But you must remember that these judges are as nervous as you are. Even more so, in fact. They are TERRIFIED that they might misjudge you and break your heart. They are PETRIFIED that you will forever dislike them for their comments. That they are RUINING your Speech career by telling you that you need to work on inflection. These community judges are new to this. They don’t know what they’re doing. They are probably lost and confused. But you have had months to prepare your speech (or weeks, if you’re like me). They just showed up the morning of the tournament ready to listen.
Well, before we begin, I’d like to say that I like reader involvement. I’m also an interper at heart. So, while you’re reading, please read the CAPITALS as shouting. Thanks! (Please don’t ACTUALLY shout. That’s not the best idea…) All lame starters, introductions, and disclaimers aside, let’s begin.
So please be nice to them. Give them grace. Don’t flip your chair. You need them to get to NITOC. It’s not your speaking that gets the checkmarks. It’s the judges who assign them. So just be patient. There are more tournaments. Speaking of which, I think I see the S.S. Concordia on the horizon. I should get ready for it. Onward, S.S. Paradigm!