From Granny's Rocker Auto 4

The first time that language abilities really made me feel powerful or important was my senior project presentation for my high school english class. I learned how to crochet. Being an overwhelmingly masculine endeavor into the incredibly popular field of granny-stick-working, I had absolutely no need to present any jokes or anything comical at all to keep the classroom's attention. (If only this had been the case). I was immediately struck with a challenge that I had never been faced with before: Make your experience acceptable to your peers!!! ahh! how oh how would I make light of my somewhat feminine endeavor? I know! Gay jokes! I incorporated some reactions from my homophobic step-father, utilizing mocking tones and overly dramatic diction to present the class with the irony that (being interested in the ladies) I continued into a stereotypical field. I effectively communicated my heterosexuality and masculinity and through pinning jokes to myself, I securely highlighted my inability to be penetrated or affected by the perceptions of my peers.
I found that simply defending myself by defining myself bred a new slew of self-confidence.
I realized that being in a perfectly focused situation gave much gravity to what I said. The jokes and other innuendos I utilized lightened this gravity and allowed the audience to trust me as a speaker. After I gained their trust I harked on how my senior project allowed a new dimension of self-realization, and described that i not only learned how to make sick-ass beanies, but learned how to step through stereotypical barriers without self-doubt. I transfered knowledge through my experience in the oral tradition. I communicated this through my presentation, being very confident and identifying stereotypes in very precise measures sure not to offend anyone who exemplified these stereotypes. In short, as an offshoot of learning to crochet, I learned to objectively identify stereotypes as they present themselves and feel secure in confidence to let them simply pass by, and gained power and importance through oral tradition by the communiation of and acceptance of my experience.