Jeanette Walls: A Very Late but Thoughtful Journal

I went to a convocation to listen to Jeannette Walls; writer of The Glass Castle.  She was an excellent public speaker, which was surprising given her background.  I assume she has done countless other shows about her book and her success story, so I guess public speaking is just a skill you pick up along the way.  She spoke very fluently and transitioned from one subject to the next very smoothly.  Even when she allowed the audience to ask her any questions, she never had to stop and think, and always answered with an amazing thought-provoking answer.  Aside from her excellent speaking skills, she was very down-to-earth and interesting to listen to.  She was also very optimistic about anything she had to talk about, even the things that might be difficult subjects for most people to talk about.  This is probably because she is used to it because she speaks so much about her life, and most people in the theatre already knew a lot about her background because of the book.  I believe that another reason that she is so optimistic is because of her naïve personality.  She was naïve ever since she was a young girl, according to the book, despite all of the things she went through growing up.  I think that was the most powerful thing about her speech, it really shows the power of optimism and making the best of whatever you are given in life.  If I took nothing else away from reading The Glass Castle, at least now I can always remind myself to make the best of what I’m given.