Personal Narrative: Starting Junior Year
Starting my freshman year I had just moved thousands of miles away from everyone and everything I had ever known. The transition was difficult enough--meeting new people has never been easy for me--but upon scheduling my classes I decided to push myself even further and take the forensics class. It was one of the best mistakes I have ever made in my life. Beginning speech and debate, I was in way over my head. I had no idea how to go about writing and researching things that would make me sound intelligent and do well in competitions. It didn’t go well. Spending hours researching, writing and practicing speeches did nothing to improve my success; yet I didn’t mind in the slightest. The main event I focused on throughout the year was oratory,
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a ten minute persuasive speech. Despite the fact I performed horribly and was still terrified by talking in front of people, I was having fun. The decision was made to take the class again and stay on the team. The second year was the deciding point in my success with debate. Beginning the year I was experimenting with new events that played more to my strengths and even from the first competition of the year I was already winning awards. I placed 1st in Expository Speaking at one tournament and 3rd in Impromptu and 3rd in Expository at the next. At districts I qualified for state in Public Forum debate. With the confidence that succeeding had given me I became lazy again. As the other competitors worked to improve, I didn’t. As the year progressed the love I felt for speech and debate became immense. I would spend weeks before tournaments excited to go. But even with all of the enjoyment I felt towards speech and debate, I still didn’t spend as much time working on it as I should have.
Starting Junior year more determined than ever I thought that was going to be my year to shine, but towards the end of the speech season, during the time most of our largest competitions are, my entire team sat and collectively reflected on how badly we were performing.
We weren't just letting ourselves down but also our coach. No one felt the weight of this as much as I did. As the student on our team that had been in speech and debate the longest, I should have been doing better than I was. Me, and the rest of the team, decided to work harder, do better and make our coach proud of us. For me this wasn’t a new feeling. I constantly felt bad that I wasn’t doing as good as I possibly could. I had finally hit my low point and was determined to succeed. There wasn’t much of the season left to improve, but that didn’t stop me from trying. One competition I was a few points away from making finals, the next I semi finaled. The biggest step that year was qualifying for state in Public Forum debate and Impromptu, two of my favorite events. At state me and my partner made octafinals in debate before being eliminated. At the NSDA district tournament, the competition that decides if you will make it to nationals, I was 2nd alternate in student congress.
Starting this year I placed 2nd in Impromptu at our first competition. The second competition I didn’t do as well and thus I’m working closely with my coach to prepare for the next competition, despite the fact that it is over a month away
still.
a ten minute persuasive speech. Despite the fact I performed horribly and was still terrified by talking in front of people, I was having fun. The decision was made to take the class again and stay on the team. The second year was the deciding point in my success with debate. Beginning the year I was experimenting with new events that played more to my strengths and even from the first competition of the year I was already winning awards. I placed 1st in Expository Speaking at one tournament and 3rd in Impromptu and 3rd in Expository at the next. At districts I qualified for state in Public Forum debate. With the confidence that succeeding had given me I became lazy again. As the other competitors worked to improve, I didn’t. As the year progressed the love I felt for speech and debate became immense. I would spend weeks before tournaments excited to go. But even with all of the enjoyment I felt towards speech and debate, I still didn’t spend as much time working on it as I should have.
Starting Junior year more determined than ever I thought that was going to be my year to shine, but towards the end of the speech season, during the time most of our largest competitions are, my entire team sat and collectively reflected on how badly we were performing.
We weren't just letting ourselves down but also our coach. No one felt the weight of this as much as I did. As the student on our team that had been in speech and debate the longest, I should have been doing better than I was. Me, and the rest of the team, decided to work harder, do better and make our coach proud of us. For me this wasn’t a new feeling. I constantly felt bad that I wasn’t doing as good as I possibly could. I had finally hit my low point and was determined to succeed. There wasn’t much of the season left to improve, but that didn’t stop me from trying. One competition I was a few points away from making finals, the next I semi finaled. The biggest step that year was qualifying for state in Public Forum debate and Impromptu, two of my favorite events. At state me and my partner made octafinals in debate before being eliminated. At the NSDA district tournament, the competition that decides if you will make it to nationals, I was 2nd alternate in student congress.
Starting this year I placed 2nd in Impromptu at our first competition. The second competition I didn’t do as well and thus I’m working closely with my coach to prepare for the next competition, despite the fact that it is over a month away
still.