People would consider me shy. I would consider them rude. How could I be shy? I contemplated this idea until I realized they were telling the truth. To be honest, I don’t like that I am shy. In fact, I live for the day that I grow out of this curse. For example, I’ve always been scared to speak in public, I hate it when teachers call on me to answer questions, and I get nervous when people stare at me. I didn’t know if I could overcome this imperfect characteristic until eleventh grade when I was enrolled in public speaking.
Public speaking was my worst enemy. I dreaded standing in front of my classmates each week pondering over what they thought of my performance. One week I was given the topic regarding the compensation of college athletes. I was cons and my partner, Bonnie, was pros. My teacher had mentioned that this would be a competition to see who had delivered the best speech. I was determined to win because I wanted to prove to myself that I had overcome my fear. By the end of the week, I had practiced so much I was tired of hearing my own speech. On the day of the performance, I told myself to relax and just have fun. When my teacher called on me I sashayed to the front of the room with confidence. Words began to flow out of my mouth in a crystal-like manner. For the first time, I was using hand gestures and giving great eye contact. I was shocked at myself as my speech came to an end. My teacher exclaimed that that was one of the best speeches she had ever heard. All around the room I heard “Great eye contact” “Good pacing” “Good pronunciation”. It was amazing to see what a little practice could do.
I use to feel like shyness was just a part of me but now I know its just something I had to overcome. I can be whoever I choose to be and I shouldn’t care so much about what others think. Public speaking class really changed my life perspective. People got to see me for who I am. I wasn’t just the shy girl sitting in the back of the class anymore. I had a voice, a powerful voice that would spread knowledge for all.
