Day Of Infamy Competition

Stage fright has always been a part of my life, but in my junior year of high school, I decided to face my fear and join the Speech and Debate team. My instructor called us together within the first two weeks of school and informed us that our first competition was in three weeks. There are many tournaments within one Speech and Debate competition, which helps to expand the topics of each speech and performance. Most topics are self chosen, rather than assigned, and the competitors have the option of competing as a duo of two partners. Since it was my first time ever competing on a Speech and Debate team, I decided to enter the competition with my friend and compete in the duo section. My partner, Abby, and I researched many speeches and topics to learn. After a few days of researching, we decided to split President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s speech, “Day of Infamy.” In …show more content…
Long nights and countless days finally paid off as the competition rounded the corner. Two days before the competition, the whole team gathered together to have a practice run through of the competition. My instructor allowed our peers to present us with positive and negative feedback of each competitor’s performance. With butterflies flying in our stomach, Abby and I stood up and braced the crowd to give our version of Roosevelt’s “Day of Infamy” speech. When our speech came to a close, Abby and I received a standing ovation from our peers, along with some feedback giving us pointers on how to present our speech. This small confirmation from my peers gave me a significant confidence boost, ultimately helping me discover a part of myself that I never knew existed.
The day of the competition approached us swiftly. Backstage, Abby and I rehearsed our speech while many others competed. When the people before us were called to enter the stage, Abby and I repeated the Lord’s Prayer and prepped for our