Public Speaking

My high school daughter just started a public speaking class.

She gave her first speech this week.

McDaniel had to bring in three things that defined her in a bag that also had a tie-in.

She brought in things that represented her faith, her name and her love of writing.

All in a KFC bucket to represent her love of fried chicken.

She wasn’t nervous. 

Not even a little bit.

Public speaking is way up there in the top fears of man.

For some, even more so than death.

After speaking at my church’s women’s retreat this past October, 

I get that.

McDaniel told me all about the speeches that she will need to give over the next semester.

They are basically the same speeches I was required to give when I was in high school.

It brought me back.

And honestly, 

I don’t remember being nervous 

back then either.

I had THE BEST public speaking class.

It was filled with a variety of people due to the fact that everyone HAD to take this class to graduate.

I remember the girl who got so nervous during every. single. speech. that she shook uncontrollably and could barely hold her note cards or control her wavering voice.

It was so hard to watch.

But, boy, did we root for her.

It was a safe place.

I remember the sweet boy with the sheepish grin who, during his demonstration speech, 

decided to show us how to take out and put back in contact lenses.

He couldn’t read his notes when his contacts were out.

I remember the girl who showed us how to decorate a cake and passed out butter cream roses for the class to eat.

I would pay a lot of money for one right now.

I also remember the boy who showed us how to tag a hog’s ear.

I grew up in a small town surrounded by big farms.

He had cut out a construction paper ear and for reasons unknown,

(nerves, I hope)

he hole-punched the holy heck 

out of that construction paper hog’s ear 

until it completely fell apart.

I remember a boy with a poster board who had story-boarded in great stick-person detail, 

just how creatively he chose to torment his sister.

No one laughed harder at that speech than him.

And I laughed pretty hard.

It was fun listening to McDaniel talk about all the speeches she heard.

And who knows, 

she just might remember a few of them almost 30 years from now,

like me.

What about you? 

Do you have any high school/college public speaking memories?

I’d love to hear them!