Dear Tim:
This Monday, Buzz, Aubrey, William, and I participated in an English speech contest, and we all got fairly nice results! Aubrey got the first in the second group(the second group is for the students who have studied abroad for over a year. Well, in this competition Aubrey was the only one in this group, so she got the first. STILL, she did an amazing job on stage, and she deserved the prize :D) William got the fifth while Buzz got the third (So HAPPY for them).
However, to my most genuine surprise, I got the first place! I have never seen this coming, but looking back at the minutes before my turn... My heart was still pounding like the deep thundering roars of a drum. I tried countless ways to calm myself down but failed miserably. That was when my stage fright took over. I envisioned how ridiculous if I mispronounced or stammered or forgot the lines I was supposed to say. I imagined the piercing hawk-like eyes of the judges and the other contestants, and I just couldn't muster the strength for a steady breath. I then looked over to the audience, where my friends were sitting, showing silent support and encouragement. I took in another deep breath and thumped on my hand with the other rather vehemently, the rhythm of it matching with the beating of my heart. Slowly, I found my hands slowing down and so did my once-hammering heart. With a prevalent serene smile, I walked onto the stage, completed my speech somewhat successfully. All of us made it to the second round, which is a one-and-a-half minute impromptu speech. It was a topic easily expressed, and for the biggest harvest for that day? I gained the hope that I can one day conquer my fear of going on stage!
Reading about the school fair the other school was having, I recalled the good times from last year, selling colored soda, hair dyeing parlor, and the pan-fried instant noodles... Those sure were busy times, but an exquisite memory nonetheless. Next semester there will be another school fair, though not with the same people...
The next big event for us EHP students would be the yearly performance of our seniors. As I mentioned last week, we have to do a lot to assist them and host the whole event as well. For the preparation, we will have to come to school during the dragon boat festival holiday (Bye holiday~) But same with all the seniors, we hope to bring the best experience for those who attends to this event.
Yesterday, I saw on the Internet that there was another terrorist attack in Manchester... It was such an outrage and unbearable sorrow. Have the attackers ever thought of how many myriads a pain it might inflict on the victims' family? What's worse, that Trump, the new and "glorious" president of the United States is still rambling about immigrants and building walls and firing crucial government workers(I'm not really sure though. Haven't been following his movements lately)(sigh)
Oops. The piled up projects and homework are calling again. Excuse me, and have a nice week!
Best regards,
Hugo
5/24/2017
Hugo,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to you and your classmates on your success in the speech contest! If your speech is anything like your writing, I can see why you won. Good job!
Unfortunately, your fear of public speaking can only be overcome with practice. Some cynics have suggested whiskey, but getting the correct dosage can be a problem, so i won't recommend that. Again, congratulations!
Do you remember Cindy Haung, the student from NTNU who came to your class a couple of time last fall? Summer has invited her back to see the student performance for class 220, and to say "hello" to all of you again. She's actually very shy, and gets very nervous, so I would ask that you and Mervyn to help her get comfortable with your crowd. You can tell if she's nervous, but she won't be able to speak English is she's too nervous. She will be bring cookies as a gift for your class, but only enough for about one a piece. So don't let Buzz, William, and Samuel grab all of the cookies.
By the way, NTNU is for National Taiwan NORMAL (as in, "we're not the crazy ones") University.
Tim