There I Stood
Peter Collins., Manchester, England
April 1st, 2001. It was on this day that a young girl descended the steps of a
Boeing 747 aircraft and stepped foot into the United States of America. Timid,
apprehensive, and intimidated, this girl had to swiftly assimilate into a new
culture by becoming fluent in the American accented English of her peers at
school. Fast forward to 2010, and that young inhibited girl has
metamorphosed into a very confident me.
Upon my arrival in America, I was so awed by words emanating from the
television that I would sit one foot from the screen to soak in the fluency of the
language. Each time I listened to the anchors speak so crisply, I was influenced
to enter this pulsating world as a journalist. My parents wondered how their
diffident daughter would speak on TV if she could not even speak confidently
in front of people. I did not know but I refused to relent, so in August 2007, I
officially joined the Speech and Debate team at my high school to explore my
options.
I joined Original Oratory, a speech event in which I would write an original
oratory, no two guesses there. Once I chose a topic, I began writing a speech,
something which liberated my thoughts completely. I was thrilled. Granted
that what I had to say about our culture’s fascination with stereotyping was
not exactly akin to my cousin’s PhD thesis, but, nevertheless, I was calmed by
the writing process. Before I could rehearse my speech ten times in front of the
mirror, glancing at my face but all too often, pointing out my facial flaws,
instead of focusing on my expressions, the date for my first ever public
speaking competition neared. At that unearthly hour of 6 am on a Saturday
morning, I awoke to squeeze in what would be my last rehearsal before the
physically draining day ahead. During the tournament, I recall that my hands
were beaded with perspiration and my feet cocooned by warmth and tension.
Each and every time I presented my speech, I gained an ounce of confidence in
myself. Wrapping up the day after five rounds of speeches, I waited with
baited breath at the site of the awards ceremony, the high school cafeteria, to