thoughts and goals about speech and debate.

So lately I've been thinking about why I joined speech and debate. The officer elections have passed now, and hearing the candidates' speeches really made me think- What have I done this year? What have I learned? How have I improved? What is my goal in this club?

Despite all my accomplishments with breaking at almost every tournament (except for three) this year, I am still a bit disappointed with myself. I feel like I could have done even more. I could have used my time more wisely and tried more events other than just interp. I'm not at all impressed with my choice to quit debate after just one meeting, then decide to join it again at the end of the year, then to realize how fun it is, and finally regret dropping out in the beginning. I have learned that self doubt is not something that you should think of often. It holds you back from a lot of things you could have done. For me, it held me back from debate.

I have spent so much of my time, sacrificed so many of my other activities just to do this one. Why has this been such an important club to me? Through all that has passed, whether what I felt was hatred, love, or admiral for others, this club has shown me so much of the world and opened my eyes to allow me to see new things. It has shown me that tournaments are not just meant for us to win, but meant for us to learn. Competitors are not people who you should stay away from or hate. Instead, they are people who we can study and gain knowledge from. Their actions can show us how or how not to act, and can also determine whether they become champion, or have a ranking way down low. We can improve ourselves a lot just by watching what they do in their rounds. We take the good and add it into our own performances (after some slight modifications), and use the bad as a reference on what not to do later on. This doesn't only apply to speech and debate, but so many more activities that we do in our daily lives.

So after thinking about this for quite a while, what I really want to accomplish in this club is simple. I just want to improve myself, change myself, and challenge myself, to become a better person and do the most that I can to make an impact on my life. Something that will leave me as a better person, also a person who can be counted on. And I strongly believe in myself that I can and have the potential to do that.

 As a freshman in high school, I still have so many years to become a better speaker and take my skills to the next level. Through numerous practices, failures, and times of despair, as long as I do the most that I can, no matter what the results end up to be, I will have succeeded and reached my goal. I am doing speech and debate because I love it, and not just to win. To go far in life, you do what you love, and love what you do.

~felita