I can remember that day so clearly. It was “club day”, my first one as a freshman. As I walked throughout the gym I glanced at the beautiful posters people had put together to represent their clubs. Nothing really seemed to catch my attention until I reached the end of the gym where I saw a poster for the a club that became my passion for all four years of high school. A club that has taught me about good sportsmanship, dedication, support and time management. As I walked to the end of the gym that day I saw a paper for the Forensics Team, commonly called the speech team. At the time I didn’t know how much that club would impact the next for years of my life. I picked up the flyer and decided to attend the first meeting; I enjoyed speaking in front of people, so why not? I will never forget my first speech team meeting. As I walked into Room 12 I became nervous. I didn’t know anyone there so I just sat down. Well within a matter of seconds a few bubbly sophomores came up to me, greeted me and made me feel welcome. One even nicknamed me “freshman.” Although this may not seem like a big deal, it was for me because I had never had a nickname before. They helped me decide what category I would compete in, helped me find a piece and helped me practice my speech. I was the only freshman on the team, but I was treated like an equal. There was no hierarchy system, just a group of genuinely nice girls who would go on to become some of my best friends.
Although one might think that the speech team doesn’t require a lot of time, that’s most certainly not the case. I had to practice every day on my own and every Friday with my coaches. Competitions were held on Saturdays from 8:00 to 5:00; however, I didn’t mind. I loved every minute of it! I learned to manage my time because I had to get up early on Saturdays and came home late, so I had to sacrifice many Friday nights. I learned to be happy for other people, even if I was upset with my own performance. It was extremely frustrating to be happy for people who “broke” to finals when you’re so upset that your hard work didn’t land you into the final rounds, but I learned to put my feelings aside and support my team. As the months went on, winning became less and less important. I did the team just for fun. I met so many nice people and just genuinely enjoyed competing and learning from the other competitors.
As I became older, I began to help the freshman practice, which was also very time-consuming. Senior year I became captain. That was a great deal of responsibility because all of the other girls looked up to me to run the practices, help them with their speeches and encourage them. I learned leadership skills and the meaning of dedication. I wouldn’t trade my experiences on the speech team for the world.
College is definitely more than I expected it to be. My classes are extremely challenging and I receive so much reading! I hope to maintain an average that is well above what’s expected of me. I don’t know how I will accomplish this because the tests are so difficult, but I have high expectations for myself. It’s reassuring to know that I have Mr. Medina, John Chung and my LC to help through this difficult time. It’s nice to know that there are so many people willing to help me succeed. My fellow classmates and professors have been so kind and generous in helping me. My professors are more than willing to stay after class with me and I intend on utilizing the writing and tutoring centers. Everybody is so willing to help one another, which is comforting. I had great time management in high school, but I think I’m slacking in college. Balancing schoolwork, a job, sleep and a social life is difficult and I think that I need to dedicate more time to schoolwork. It’s early enough in the semester to correct this problem now that I have acknowledged it and I have every confidence that I will do so.