Mini Mid-week Meltdown

Last week, I was overwhelmed with school/ work commitments. I was thinking about dropping my speech forensics class to I can have more time to devote to my major classes which aren't going as well as they should. It's that feeling you get when you're 1 or 2 steps behind and struggling to catch up. I hate it! Thing is, I had to make the decision fast because I had to take part in an intercollegiate speech tournament over the weekend. At first, I thought the class would be simple (no papers, no tests) but then I freaked out about having to be in a tournament. It is no easy task and involves research and preparation, memorizing, and learning how to give the speech. I can deal with people one-on-one but I hate being the center of attention on stage. I took a basic speech comm. class over 2 years ago so I was out of practice. I don't like to do things unless I know I can do them well and excel. Did I mention that my school's team always wins awards at these events? After a lot of encouragement, I decided to go for it. All the travel arrangements had been made so we set out on Friday. It was fun travelling with the Speech & Debate team in the school van with our teacher driving. It reminded me of field trips in high school.

Fast-forward to the actual event. It's a parallel universe that I never knew about till recently. You know how people who are into beauty pageants, horse racing, or chess are really into it? They devote years of their lives to being good and attend all these events that mean little to the rest of us. There's something similar with the Speech tournament. Some people have been doing it since primo, or high school. The dramatic verses remind me of Kenya Music Festival. If you're in debate, you can wear jeans but we had to dress up for the speeches. (Rant: For chics, it's a pain finding dressy shoes that are comfortable and look good. I went shopping for shoes and you wouldn't believe how hard it is to find a pair of flat, black, dressy, closed-toe & heel shoes. I swear, they make shoes for people who's objective is just to have pretty looking feet. How about the rest of us who walk and need shoes to fit into our active lives?) The unofficial uniform is a black pin-striped suit. Well the good news is I survived it. I was very surprised to get an award in the novice category especially because I didn't even make it to the final rounds. Anyhow, I talked to my advisor today and she's great. I've decided to just hang in there with the classes.