Slowly sinking into my chair, I wished I was anywhere but here, when I hear the teacher ask, “Who wants to present first?” I practiced my speech earlier that day and mesmerized exactly what I would say. I know as soon as I get up there to present, my mind would go blank. My mind raced with what if questions. ‘What if I say the wrong thing?’ ‘What if I forget what to say?’ ‘What if everybody laughs at me?’ I know I have to go sooner or later, but I hate talking in front of people. No one wants to go first, so my heart starts to race.

I know the teacher will start picking people to go and with my luck, he will choose me. I sink into my chair. I try to act busy by looking over my notecards hoping he would look over me and choose someone else. I am so focused on trying to look busy that when the teacher calls my name I didn't hear him. My friend nudges me on the shoulder to get my attention. I look up to see that the whole class is staring at me.

A couple of kids in the back of the room have already started laughing, and I have not even started giving my speech yet. I did not know what was going on until the teacher repeats herself.  

   “Ok Lucy,” the teacher says again, “you're up next.” Cheeks flaming red, I quickly grab my note cards and slowly make my way to the front of the room. I set my note cards on the podium and look out at the class to see that all eyes are on me. I freeze up for a second and forget how to speak. I can tell that the teacher is getting impatient and will soon begin deducting points if he has not already. I grip the podium and nervously look at my notes one last time before I begin to give my speech. I open my mouth and the words come out weak and distorted. My chest tightens and I forget how to breathe. The room starts to spin. My vision blurs and my knees weaken.

I close my eyes to hoping that when I open them again everyone would be gone. When I open my eyes I see my teacher pointing to his watch.  I see my best friend sitting in the front row. She mouths the words, “just start talking you'll be fine.” That is easy for her to say since she loves to talk in front of people. She is never afraid to speak her mind and stands up for other people. She is the officer of almost every club that she is in. And at lunch, she goes from table to table talking to everyone. And appears to be friends with everyone she meets.

I take a deep breath and pretend that I am more like her. I try to focus on the wall in front of me. My words comes out almost as a whisper but slowly gets louder as I become more confident.  Halfway through the speech I look out at the class and realize that I am not afraid at all.