I turned with slight hesitation. They all sat, glancing directly into my eyes. I shivered. More than 30 students sat, ready to learn the art of debate. Each student was so unique from the other. Some outgoing and some confused. They resembled my mentality as I entered debate in 8th grade. I advised them to begin drills as I nervously sat.

First day of school. I jumped in my seat as the bell alerted me that I was in 2nd period, debate. I sat, confused on the difference between speech and debate. I thought to myself, why did I pick this class?

Choosing my event was difficult. I enjoy debate with a partner. I chose Public Forum with my partner as my best friend. Our first in-class debate was against a snobby kid and his hot-head partner. The topic was whether standardized testing was beneficial for K-12 students. The round started. I heard my heart beating profusely. As I made my way to the podium, the room was silent yet the inside of my head was chaotic. 

My fears intensified. What if my voice cracked? What if my mouth was dry? I began speaking. I reassured myself beforehand that everything would come naturally. Understanding how everything changed inside me altogether was difficult to comprehend. The knots in my stomach loosened. My heart calmed. I grew confident as the debate continued. I refuted each claim and left our opponents silent. At the end of the debate, the audience heavily ruled in favor of my team. The hours I spent listening to others debate aided me to form my own unique debate style while using winning tactics. 

Weeks later, the day had come, our first real competition. With every event, I enjoy dressing well and standing out. As a result, I planned my suit from a week before. If I was going to lose, at the very least, I would lose in style. A muted, jet black suit with a zip tie because I had no idea how to tie a tie. Luckily, the zipper was not visible. 

The first round had begun. As the negative, we spoke second which allowed us to have a practical planning advantage to retaliate against the first speakers. My partner and I worked in harmony to the point that we could practically read each other’s minds. Every opportunity to speak was yet another chance to disprove our opponents and reassure our judge that we won. Throughout, we proved our exceptional planning as the judge nodded her head with a slight smile. 

My favorite part of Public Forum Debate is the Grand Crossfire. Each debater asks questions interrogatively. It allows me to then, in the calmest fashion, directly say why they have no idea what the topic is addressing and why their entire claim is invalid, all with a convincing smile of victory stretched across my face. In the end, our opponents were speechless.

After 2 more rounds of similar fashion, it was time for the rewards. Starting from 10th place, the announcer began. Finally, the first 3 places were being called. Our nerves intensified. Did we not speak well enough for extra points? 3rd place was to Pines Charter. Was the judge smiling because we stuttered too much? 2nd place was to Silver Trail. Were we too arrogant? 

As 1st place was announced, I was truthfully hopeless. Time had slowed. The announcer continued, “Now 1st place, Umir and Michael!" I bounced out of my seat, realizing that we became victorious as 1st year debaters at our first competition. At the end of that season we finished undefeated at 11-0. These thoughts were abruptly interrupted. “So how do I do what you did? I am too scared to speak”, a debater asked. “Be confident and work hard, it’s truthfully that simple”.