An Achievement That Was Earned

This past weekend has been a weekend for me to remember. As all of Top of Texas knows, I made it to District to compete in the Tall Tales contest. It's an interesting feeling, the first few moments of a contest, when the contest Toastmaster asks all the contestants to stand in a packed room of around 200 people. To be one of the few who made it that far, to be looked at in admiration by the entire audience, one either feels incredibly proud or incredibly nervous. I felt proud. Before each of the other contests I was shaking in uncontrollable fear, fear of letting myself down. I felt fear that I would slip up, fear that everyone would find ten, twenty, one hundred things wrong with my speech, and that people would look at me in pity after two years of trying my hardest to be a better speaker. This time around though, I knew I was better speaker. I made it this far! I achieved something I never thought I would.

That's how I see it. I see it as an achievement. Not as a failure that I didn't make it in the top three, no. Standing on the District stage brings a feeling no one will ever know until they are up there. When a room full of people have their eyes on you, when those in the back voluntarily paid ten dollars apiece to hear you speak, and you know you earned your way to that masking tape "x" marked on the stage, placing or not placing is merely secondary. Now, don't get me wrong, I would have loved to earn a trophy, but I achieved a victory of my own that night, and that was to have the attention of an audience, to captivate them, to make them laugh, and to hear their applause. Two years ago, if anyone told me that was in my future, I probably would have shrugged it off.

It is also interesting to note that entering the Tall Tales contest at the club level was something I was very unsure about probably until a week before the contest. I thought, I am not a competitor, I am not good enough to compete against all those out there who have been in Toastmasters much longer than I have. I am not a natural. I am not even a Competent Communicator! I'm not Competent! All of the self-doubt bogged me down. Toastmasters though, is so encouraging, everyone in my club dragged me out of that muck and told me to get out of my comfort zone and try the Tall Tales, just try it. I did and found myself on the District stage.

Toastmasters helped me realize that I am greater than I give myself credit, and you all who are reading this, you too, are greater than you give yourself credit. You'll never understand the capabilities you have if you only stick to what you know. Push your envelope, peek through your own barriers, dip your toes, any other cliche about trying something new that will make you reach further, I'm throwing it at you. I want to see you all shine, and if I could give you the feeling I felt Friday night, I would, but I think you would probably want to earn it for yourself.

DeAnna Wolf