Closed Mouths Don't Get Fed by Ruth

Closed Mouths Don't Get Fed by Ruth - July 2025 Scholarship Essay

I remember being afraid of public speaking back in my freshman and sophomore years of high school. Presenting in front of a big audience or even my own class was terrifying. Talking to new people for the first time, or even people that I already knew like my teachers, was very challenging for me, maybe because English is not my first language and I was too afraid of making a mistake or saying something wrong. If I could give one piece of advice to my younger self, it would be: “Don’t be afraid to speak up and advocate for yourself because if you don't, no one else will.” Today I am able to realize the importance of this powerful advice. Each individual is responsible for speaking and advocating for themselves. We have to learn that public speaking and socializing are essential in order to succeed.

If I could go back in time to give myself this piece of advice, I would choose my freshman year of high school, where I was a shy and quiet person, scared of talking. I clearly remember my very first day of high school. Everything was going great until lunch came around. I had a different schedule than the rest of my friends, which made me feel lonely, scared, and panicked. I was too scared of talking to new people, so I just sat at an empty table and looked at the clock with my lunchbox in front of me, hoping that lunch would be over soon. However, after about five minutes, a group of girls decided to sit with me. I was so nervous that I could feel my face turning red. They were all really nice and tried talking to me. Scared of making a mistake or pronouncing something wrong, I remained as quiet as possible. Weeks passed by, and I was still the quietest of the group. Each day they would ask me a question, and I would just answer it with “yes” or “no.” A month went by, and I was feeling tired of being so quiet all the time, so I set a goal: the next day, I would be the one to ask the question this time. I began asking them what their favorite color was, then what were some of their favorite hobbies, etc. I realized that talking to new people was not as bad as I thought it would be. In the second month, I was part of each one of their conversations, and by the end of the year, they became my best friends.

Freshman and sophomore year of high school went by fast, and in my junior year of high school, I was no longer afraid of asking questions regardless of how stupid they sounded. I was no longer afraid of talking to new people or engaging with strangers. Today I am able to realize the importance of socializing. I am no longer scared of presenting in front of a big audience or asking questions. I am able to do things that my younger self would have never thought I was capable of doing, such as presenting in front of a panel of judges for a state club competition or joining a one-week college program where I got to meet over 80 other students from all over the state and talked to every single one of them while being complete strangers.

Not being afraid to speak up or advocate for yourself is one of the best things you could ever do for yourself. Not being afraid of speaking has opened up numerous doors for my future. I have met a lot of people that have given me resources, advice, and help that I wouldn’t be able to obtain if I didn't speak to them. I was able to change myself from being too scared of making a mistake or even saying something that would make me not fit in to someone who advocates for herself and speaks up to become a better version of myself, because something else that I learned throughout my journey is that "closed mouths don’t get fed."