Speech and Debate: Choosing Opportunity Over Doubt by Mary

Speech and Debate: Choosing Opportunity Over Doubt by Mary - November 2020 Scholarship Essay

Speech and debate is an after-school activity where you choose from the many different forms of speech (poetry, acting, etc.) and debate (parliamentary debate, mock congress, etc.) You then take your chosen event to compete at tournaments with hundreds of students from different schools. Several of my friends were already in speech and debate their freshman year--I wanted to be a part of it, but I thought it would be too much of a reach to think that I could be both successful, and confident, in a public speaking activity. What is funny is that when I was younger, I actually had to be taken out of class to practice pronunciation of words because I just didn’t talk enough. So naturally, growing up shy always was a setback for me in terms of doing things out of my comfort zone. Luckily, as I got older I began to grow out of my shell, and by sophomore year I decided to join speech and debate--what I most thank my education for.

My high school experience became so much more memorable after joining speech and debate. After many years of choosing the easy-to-reach, I finally realized that if you just push yourself into the water, you’ll be better at swimming than you think. I know this whole idea of “you can achieve whatever you want” is such a cliche lesson, but I never realized how important it is until I actually had to do it myself. It wasn’t until the year I joined speech and debate that I realized I put off many opportunities that I didn’t have the confidence to do in the past. Little did I know that I would finale at my very first speech tournament! My speech and debate team was very proud of my early success, and it felt good. What felt better though, was being able to say that I was proud and excited for myself. Ever since then, I've gained a newfound confidence that inspires me to never let doubt overcome my desire to do something.

As I continue to grow into a young adult, I recognize that there are many kids in my rural community who feel the same struggle as I did. Growing up in Tillamook County is a great way to learn the value of strong community ties, but, apart from that, it’s hard to understand what your life could be outside of it. Being surrounded by the same 50 classmates since 6th grade creates a comfortable environment; until I joined an activity that forced me to mingle and perform in front of hundreds of different students, I never really thought of what my possibilities were outside of school. Speech and debate has shown me the value of confidence, humiliation, and not being afraid to step out your comfort zones. Now, as a senior in high school, I feel for younger students who have the same fears and doubts as I did. Knowing what it feels like to be held back by fears, I aspire to be someone who could help an individual choose their opportunity over doubt.