Speaking in Public by Andrea

Speaking in Public by Andrea - August 2014 Scholarship Essay

Failure is look upon as something negative and most of the time we beat ourselves up pretty harsh in the things we couldn't accomplish. I agree that failure isn't something that should be taken lightly, we should always try our best to succeed in whatever we are doing whether it's in school, work, or a task we are given. However failure can be something positive, it can push you to do things you wouldn't have done before. I would never forget my freshman year in high school my English teacher assigned us a project that we had to present in front of the class for a very high grade. I must confess I wasn't a very good public speaker at the time and was completely horrified to talk in front of my whole class. The big day came and as I sat down in my chair listening to the other kids give their speeches I couldn't help but get even more nervous. Finally my teacher called out my name and it was my turn to go up. I stood in front of the class, looked down at my notes, and no words came out. I had practiced over 50 times at home and had the whole presentation nailed but in front of all those people it was as if I hadn't practice at all. I couldn't seem to remember anything, my hands started to get sweaty and I felt very uncomfortable standing in front of my whole class.I ended up not presenting due to my nerves and got a very low grade on the assignment, I was completely embarrassed and disappointed in myself. I failed the presentation just because I couldn't overcome my fears. I knew I had to do something about it, so I decided to take a speech class which lead me to face my fears of public speaking and learn so many things about myself in the process.

If it wasn't because I failed that presentation and felt so disappointed in myself I would of never signed up for speech and learned to speak up. That's the thing with failing at something, it gives you this feeling that can be painful but can also motivate you and cause a change to happen. That was only time I failed a presentation, and I could say that it made me stronger as an individual and a student as well. Failing in school isn't always easy there's always pressure to get good grades and succeed but sometimes in order to succeed you must fail and learn from whatever it is we're doing wrong.Learning from our mistakes in what makes us better our selves and grow stronger.

"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."
Ralph Waldo Emerson