New Speaking Opportunity

I talked to the Chief Judge of the Speech Contest I particpated in a couple of weeks ago. I told you that I spoke about self-injuring. She is an extremely accomplished speaker. She gave me some suggestions for going to Area this next weekend.

She said my speech gave her chills and blew her away. Another friend said I helped her understand her son. Another friend said it was the most powerful speech she had heard. She is a psychiatric nurse.

I am so excited about the chance to get the word out about self-injuring to more people. I think of this as a gift from God. I am going to be practicing every minute I can spare this week so I can do my best this coming weekend. I want to win so I can go on to District and spread the word there. Wouldn’t that be great.

The more people hear the word, the more people can get help. That is the purpose behind everything I do for mental health. To get help for those still suffering from mental illness. There are so many out there.

I talked to the Judge about my desire to speak to area groups. She said I could do a good job. I earned my Competent Communicator from Toastmasters this last week. It was so exciting. It took me a lot of hard work, but I did it – in one year. I will earn my Competent Leadership Award by June.

All of this I am doing as a result of my recovery of mental illness. I couldn’t have done it before. I used to be so scared of being in a room of strangers. I would have a panic attack. Now, I can confront hundreds without blinking an eye. It didn’t happen at once. It wasn’t easy. But it was worth it.

One day at a time. You can do it too.