Public speaking was never the problem. Confidence had always been easy. So when I heard about my business club’s election, I decided, “Why not?

After deciding which position I would run for, and 10 minutes of prep, I had a reservoir of information in my head, albeit a volatile one. Candidate after candidate stepped up. My hardly prepared speech began to trickle. It was a trickle at first, but became a leak beneath the piercing gaze of the audience as I stepped up to the podium. 

“Hi, my name is…”  

At the top of a collapsing dam stood a figure, watching a river of thoughts flowing into the vast expanse of nothingness-- promising themself to never crumble again.