My eyes lay wide open in bed, as I gazed up at the dark ceiling. I thought about the dreadful moment up on stage when I’d be doing my speech in front of many or maybe thousands of people whose eyes would all be staring back at me. This very thought made me shudder. Tomorrow’s Oratorical competition held in the San Diego County Fair would be my first time sharing my speech in public. Mixed feelings formed knots around my mind, and I wondered what would become of the next day. Shivering, I pulled up my soft blankets closer toward my face as I tried to fall asleep. Lost in my thoughts, I knew that confidence is the key. My eyes slowly began to droop as I yawned. Slowly, I drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

“Emily hurry up!” my mom exclaimed from the garage getting ready to embark on the endless drive to the Fair. “I’m trying my best that I’ll be there in a minute,” I yelled back as I hastily grabbed my speech and packed things in my bag. Finally, looking at the clock which read 9:15, I quickly went out the door and slipped into my dad’s car, a shiny blue Toyota, and made myself comfortable as I thought about the many people who would be watching me. They would see a girl about 11 years old with straight black hair and dark brown eyes. She would be wearing shiny purple glasses, dressed in a long violet velvet dress with flowers embroidered on the collar. It would be accompanied with a silky blue material that is hanging off of her two sleeves. Her hair would be tied up into a little bundle on top of her head with a sparkly purple hair band nestled between two hair clips. Moments later, noticing my mind went astray, I quickly snapped back into reality as I clutched my wrinkled speech, heart thumping hysterically, and began reciting my speech over and over. During intervals when I got too frustrated to continue, thoughts ran through my head. “What if I stopped mid-sentence in my speech as if my brain froze? What if I missed a very important paragraph? Would I be meeting anyone familiar?” I just simply couldn’t shake the jiggles out and I had a severe case of a stomach ache that always happens when I’m really nervous. Then suddenly my parents interrupted my thoughts
“Emily, we finally arrived at the Famous San Diego County Fair. Quickly get your things ready so we will be on time when the Oratorical Competition begins,” they said excitedly as they got out of the car.

Oh No! I thought.

San Diego County Fair was as noisy as any overcrowded fair would be. It was probably many acres long and could hold about thousands and thousands of people. It was a very well-structured event, with intriguing roller coaster rides everywhere, the flashing Great Wheel, other games for kids and many great food stalls. The aroma of freshly baked popcorn, the mouthwatering hamburgers and hotdog, and numerous smells of other delicious delicacies prevails the whole area. It was very inviting to one’s nose. However, my mind at the moment wasn’t thinking about the amazing rides I could be on, and enjoying my time with a delicious hot dog on one hand and a flavored drink on the other. Instead, I found myself exasperated by the many kids screaming and running around as if being chased by a ferocious dog. Overlapped songs that were each being played pierced my ears as if I were standing right beside the microphone. My parents and I gradually inched our way through the dense crowds toward the section where the oratorical competition was held. My heart beat was rapidly increasing every minute as I silently practiced my speech in my head…

As I entered the Oratorical competition, my mouth hung opened and I gapped at its beauty as I looked around. The whole surrounding was the most marvelous and natural scenery I’d ever seen. There were flower beds all around almost enclosing the whole area of the competition, and they grew in a variety of warm colors (red, orange, yellow, violet, shades of light blue, and dark pink) making this place look as if it was the wonders of imaginations. The black stage, as black as a beetle, was located in the center and lights from the top shone in all directions. There were drapes of black curtains that hung perfectly down the sides of the stage and a huge poster with the words Infinite and Beyond that was posted on the back of the stage. White seats in organized rows and columns all faced toward the stage like straight lines of soldiers prepared to march. Birds chirped as if singing a song and people laughed, talked, or hummed as they walked past. I breathed in deeply and smelled the fragrant flowers and rich damp air as it blew past. Then as everybody began to arrive, a voice bellowed through the microphone.

“Ladies and Gentlemen,” the speech master director smiled as he cleared his throat, “As you all know this is the Oratorical Competition consisting of three age groups: Elementary, Middle, and High School. We are now going to start with the elementary age group with 36 contestants. Please stay settled as we invite ……. to the stage!”

The speech master director had dark skin and wore a blue cap backwards on his head in a cool style. He wore a shirt that had the symbol of our Oratorical Competition (a planet and the word Oratorical Competition around the planet) and large bold letters that represented the theme of our speech “Infinite and beyond.” He seemed like a very outgoing and charismatic person and spoke in a fluent and confident way. Just now, a boy walked up on stage all red in the face and totally forgot about what he was going to say! Thankfully the speech Master casually said,
“You can do it, take a deep breathe and start over.” His advice seemed to have worked magically as words flew out of the boy’s mouth.

I looked around nervously to see if it was my turn yet as I fidgeted uncontrollably and wiped my sweaty hands on my violet velvet dress. Kids before me were as if they came from professional training of being actors. Each of them did their speech so wonderfully that I started worrying about if my speech were even in the same rank as theirs. Then, suddenly all I heard was the thumping of my heartbeat after the speech master director said,

“Emily is next being the 12th contestant. Her speech is titled Why Public Speaking Is Important. At that moment everything seemed to be in slow motion. My brain whirled and every close sound sounded many distance away. My legs were like jelly and seemed to be shaking as I walked up toward stage, and all heads turned to me as I smiled a nervous smile.

“Well Hello there,” the speech master director said.
“Hi,” I said as confidently as I could even though I struggled with my emotions.
“Where are you from?” the speech master said
“Oh, Um San Diego,” I said without hesitation in a steady voice.
“Great, you can start your speech whenever you’re ready,” he said nicely.

As I looked toward the audience my heart skipped a beat. People were staring at me no matter where they are. I looked at the 3 old judges holding their pencils with eager looks on their faces waiting for me to begin. My brain froze and for a second, and I forgot about how to begin my speech! Suddenly, I remembered and relief spread across my face as I begun my speech. Although I was still shaky, I smiled broadly to the audience, and light soon dawned on me. I felt courage within me and forgot all about my fears and just did my speech as if I were just practicing at home. I tried to act casually and words slowly came tumbling out. “……….public Speaking can lead our world to infinite and beyond.” I concluded as I stretched my arms to the sky as if reaching to infinite. While everyone clapped, I was so relief it was all over, and I walked back to where my parents were sitting. A couple of people sitting by us congratulated me and said I did a good job. At that moment, I knew as long as I tried my best everything will be fine.

Finally at 2:00, after my parents and I visited all the museums and sauntered around the quiet paths of the fair, we headed back to the Oratorical Competition where the judges were ready to decide the winners of the elementary age group. An eerie silence fell across as if everybody held his/her breathe. The only sounds were the far away distance of people chatting and the chirps from birds on the tree. Then, as if it took forever, the three judges stood up and gave their recommendations to the Speech Master Director.

“Thank you for waiting patiently. Everybody did a wonderful job so animated and lively, and I’d like to also thank all for participating in the 2012 Oratorical Competition. After a tough decision, these are the three people in elementary age group who have been chosen to be the winners. I would like the winners to come up to retrieve their awards and have their picture taken…”

I sat in my seat and took a deep breath. Then suddenly the tension in me broke as quickly as it started, and I couldn’t believe my ears. The 2nd place winner was me. What a surprise! I thought. My parents were smiling encouragingly with pride on their faces. I quickly took of my jacket, and with honor I walked upstage to retrieve my award as I heard cheers and flashes of cameras.

I’ve learned how important confidence is, not only in my speech but also from all aspects. Confidence is one of the factors to success because it would let you believe in yourself that you can do it. At the Oratorical Competition I had overcome my fears by not being afraid of talking in front of an audience or people. From then on, I feel that everything is possible if I try my best. I believe this was a very awarding lifetime experience.