July 31 2024

I do love a good book club 🙂

The Word of the Day was an interesting twist today: literally and figuratively, chosen by our grammarian Sarah.

Audrey gave her speech titled It’s Okay to Not Be Okay

She shared her honest struggles with being a caregiver for her mother
while managing her own stress and emotions. Audrey also
critiqued damaging societal expectations of caretakers to be perfect all the time as well as other unrealistic expectations of other groups like mothers. She encouraged self-acceptance for everyone, no matter who they are, and to not be too harsh with their self-criticism.

Chandana gave her speech on Mentorship

Chandana in her speech reflected on her journey with mentors from childhood to adulthood, and how she has benefited from their support and guidance. As a new grad, she struggled with navigating her corporate job and career path during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thankfully, she learned the importance of explicit communication in mentorship, advocacy, and coaching. Her only regret is that she didn’t ask for help sooner in her personal and professional growth.

We got a bonus speech today! Abhijeet gave his speech titled
Thoughts of traveling through Europe

This was his very cute but also very honest take on his travels through Europe. Some details include how in Amsterdam, he and his companions enjoyed surprisingly tasty produce and navigated the city on bicycles. Abhijeet was quite surprised by unfamiliar bathroom etiquette and other cultural differences in Europe.

For Table Topics, Table Topics Master Patrice prepared some really fun, book-related questions for the crowd, such as ‘What fictional world would you want most to be in?’

That’s all for this meeting! Stay tuned for next week.