Simun blog

Overall, I thought Simun was a great experience. In the beginning it was very nerve wracking and intimidating thinking of being in a group with sophomores and juniors and having to speak in front of them, but by the end I became a lot more comfortable with it. The researching was hard and kind of annoying, but I’m glad we did it because that is how we got to know about the topics that we were debating. I was really happy that we had a practice run-through the day before it started because if not, I would’ve had a very hard time getting to know how to ask questions and make movements.

The first day of Simun, I didn’t do very well. I was very nervous, unsure of when to speak, and the scenario didn’t have much to do with my country. I got my name on the speaker’s list, and gave a speech. After it was over, I felt a lot better. The second and third days were a lot easier for me. Almost right away I realized how my country was tied in, and I was used to speaking to that group of people. The senior mentors helped encourage me speak, and without them I would’ve spoken a lot less. I gave a few speeches, and whenever I was unclear about decisions that were made I asked questions. Researching helped me because I needed to know what countries dealt with certain scenarios.

To prepare for Simun, we had to answer four questions that we would be debating. When we did the first question, I decided to wait until the last minute. (Not such a great idea.) I realized that it took more effort than one Sunday searching for an hour about it. So for the next three questions, I gave myself more time. For some of the questions, the answers weren’t very clear. I had to dig around on a lot of different websites, and a lot of times when I actually did find some information it was incorrect, but in the end I got enough good research.

Next year, I don’t need to prepare much differently. I’ll give myself more time to research, and hopefully I’ll have more experience talking in front of groups. Simun was a great experience and helped me put myself out there.