what you said isn't what i heard

In Voice & Text class today, we had to do this exercise where we got down on one knee and took someone's hand and had to say "I love you" convincingly. Furthermore, the person had to receive it before you could go on. It's seems easy, but it's HARD. "I love you" is such an important phrase and it isn't always (and maybe very rarely) sincere.

What I found hard was receiving it properly. In this exercise, you didn't have to necessarily return the feeling, but you had to receive it. It was difficult to just take what was said. I'm beginning to realize in my classes where we receive critique on our performances that this is true more than ever. So easily, I take things personally even when, intellectually, I know the criticism is true and subjective. I'm not the only one either. When you're up to perform, you're so vulnerable, and a word can hit the wrong note that resonates in a sensitive place.

Interesting, eh?