This has nothing to do with my persoanl life..... just a pice of inspiration to soar above your fears!
There are a lot of sick emotions in this world, but perhaps one of the worst is fear. When I think of all I failed to do in my life because my fears got the best of me, I ache inside. I remember quitting my 7th standard chess team after one match because I was afraid of losing the competition. I’ll never forget refusing to be the head girl, inspite of getting a chance to because I was too scared of speaking in front of the whole school. I never asked doubts in class, not because I didn’t have any, but because I was afraid they might be too silly and the class might laugh at me. Throughout my life there have been classes I never took, friends I never made and competitions I never took part - all because of this ugly, yet very real ,’fear’.
Acting in the face of fear will never be easy, but afterward you’ll be glad you did it. During my final year at my high school, I decided to be a bit more daring. Not that I wasn’t scared now, but I wanted to enjoy the last year of my schooling to the maximum. All these years I’ve been a good student, abiding by the rules of the school and having a very good reputation among teachers. Now was the time to break the rules and live my school life in full swing. I used to bunk classes, chew gum during class, and even copy during class tests. But somewhere inside I felt guilty of my doings.
I was selected again to be the head girl of my school. This time I didn’t want to leave it totally as it was my last chance to be a part of the student council. I thought for a few days and finally got an idea. I told my teachers that I would like to be the house captain of my house. That was the best post for someone like me. Being a house captain, I would be in the council and wouldn’t have to speak in public. When it comes to competitions, I wouldn’t have to take part myself but just convince others to participate. And most of all, I got a reason to bunk my classes without feeling guilty!
First few months went very easy as there weren’t many events in school and I could show off wearing my badge. Even during the Sports week I just had to hold the flag and lead the march. I used to feel great being the house captain, that too without any scary situations. I was thinking why this idea didn’t strike me earlier, but its better late than never. Around October that year we had our youth festival - the time when I get to bunk maximum number of classes and have loads of fun. First week went well. We got enough participants for all events. Teachers were pretty happy with my work and nobody asked me why I was bunking. At the end of the week my house mistress came to me and said that we were one participant less for group song. There were just 3 days left for the competition and nobody was ready to join on short notice. I was the house captain and had to do something about this. It was the last day to give the team lists and I was worried. My house mistress came to me and said that she had solved the problem by giving my name for the event. My heart skipped a beat. The thought of singing in front of an audience made me physically sick. “Does she know that I’m hardly a bathroom singer?“ “Do I really have to sing on stage?“ A million unanswered questions were in my head at that very moment. There was no way I could get out of this as in the past I was the one who would often motivate other students by advising them never to let their fears make their decisions. Now… I was up to bat! If I didn’t agree to sing, our team would not be qualified. I thought why not step outside my comfort zone and give it a try?
With whatever little courage I had, I went for the practice sessions. I knew the lyrics of the song before itself and all the team members were my friends. My confidence level went slightly up. The practice sessions went really well. My confidence reached a level at which I could sing in front of my whole class without fear. All thanks to my team mates and teachers. But I wasn’t sure if I was ready to face an unknown audience.
Courage was what I kept rehearsing in my mind on the final dreaded day. All the teams were practicing in the green room. Listening to them, my fear went high and confidence stepped down. As I stepped onto the stage, I kept convincing myself that this cant be bad! I opened my eyes and saw the judges waiting to find faults with my singing and the largest audience I’ve ever faced. Standing on stage, 3 million light years outside my comfort zone, all that inspired me was ‘courage, courage and courage’. We started off well and sang even better. I could read that from the smiles on the faces in front. Near the end of the song is a really high note. It had always been a difficult note to reach, even in practice. On stage I anticipated it with terror. But as the note approached, I thought, what the heck? Go for it!
When we bowed after the song, I could hear the crowd clap n cheer for us. It was a great feeling of happiness as ‘I’ was one among ‘us’! I don’t recall if I hit that high note or missed it. All I remember is that a few students were so embarrassed despite their best efforts they could no longer bear to look at me.
“That was great, Chubby” “Thanks a lot“, I shrugged, as I believed them. But do you know what? Although that experience nearly killed me, when I left that hall and rode back home, I was so proud of myself that I felt a great sense of personal accomplishment and I frankly didn’t care what anyone else thought about my high note. I had survived and I was proud of it. As Edmund Hillary, the first person to climb the Everest put it, “Its not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves”. So the next time you want to make a new friend, resist peer pressure, try out for a team, get involved, be yourself, or even if you want to sign in public… do it! Even when all your doubts scream out, “you’ll fail” or “don’t try!” Never let your fears make your decisions. You make them!!
Acting in the face of fear will never be easy, but afterward you’ll be glad you did it. During my final year at my high school, I decided to be a bit more daring. Not that I wasn’t scared now, but I wanted to enjoy the last year of my schooling to the maximum. All these years I’ve been a good student, abiding by the rules of the school and having a very good reputation among teachers. Now was the time to break the rules and live my school life in full swing. I used to bunk classes, chew gum during class, and even copy during class tests. But somewhere inside I felt guilty of my doings.
I was selected again to be the head girl of my school. This time I didn’t want to leave it totally as it was my last chance to be a part of the student council. I thought for a few days and finally got an idea. I told my teachers that I would like to be the house captain of my house. That was the best post for someone like me. Being a house captain, I would be in the council and wouldn’t have to speak in public. When it comes to competitions, I wouldn’t have to take part myself but just convince others to participate. And most of all, I got a reason to bunk my classes without feeling guilty!
First few months went very easy as there weren’t many events in school and I could show off wearing my badge. Even during the Sports week I just had to hold the flag and lead the march. I used to feel great being the house captain, that too without any scary situations. I was thinking why this idea didn’t strike me earlier, but its better late than never. Around October that year we had our youth festival - the time when I get to bunk maximum number of classes and have loads of fun. First week went well. We got enough participants for all events. Teachers were pretty happy with my work and nobody asked me why I was bunking. At the end of the week my house mistress came to me and said that we were one participant less for group song. There were just 3 days left for the competition and nobody was ready to join on short notice. I was the house captain and had to do something about this. It was the last day to give the team lists and I was worried. My house mistress came to me and said that she had solved the problem by giving my name for the event. My heart skipped a beat. The thought of singing in front of an audience made me physically sick. “Does she know that I’m hardly a bathroom singer?“ “Do I really have to sing on stage?“ A million unanswered questions were in my head at that very moment. There was no way I could get out of this as in the past I was the one who would often motivate other students by advising them never to let their fears make their decisions. Now… I was up to bat! If I didn’t agree to sing, our team would not be qualified. I thought why not step outside my comfort zone and give it a try?
With whatever little courage I had, I went for the practice sessions. I knew the lyrics of the song before itself and all the team members were my friends. My confidence level went slightly up. The practice sessions went really well. My confidence reached a level at which I could sing in front of my whole class without fear. All thanks to my team mates and teachers. But I wasn’t sure if I was ready to face an unknown audience.
Courage was what I kept rehearsing in my mind on the final dreaded day. All the teams were practicing in the green room. Listening to them, my fear went high and confidence stepped down. As I stepped onto the stage, I kept convincing myself that this cant be bad! I opened my eyes and saw the judges waiting to find faults with my singing and the largest audience I’ve ever faced. Standing on stage, 3 million light years outside my comfort zone, all that inspired me was ‘courage, courage and courage’. We started off well and sang even better. I could read that from the smiles on the faces in front. Near the end of the song is a really high note. It had always been a difficult note to reach, even in practice. On stage I anticipated it with terror. But as the note approached, I thought, what the heck? Go for it!
When we bowed after the song, I could hear the crowd clap n cheer for us. It was a great feeling of happiness as ‘I’ was one among ‘us’! I don’t recall if I hit that high note or missed it. All I remember is that a few students were so embarrassed despite their best efforts they could no longer bear to look at me.
“That was great, Chubby” “Thanks a lot“, I shrugged, as I believed them. But do you know what? Although that experience nearly killed me, when I left that hall and rode back home, I was so proud of myself that I felt a great sense of personal accomplishment and I frankly didn’t care what anyone else thought about my high note. I had survived and I was proud of it. As Edmund Hillary, the first person to climb the Everest put it, “Its not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves”. So the next time you want to make a new friend, resist peer pressure, try out for a team, get involved, be yourself, or even if you want to sign in public… do it! Even when all your doubts scream out, “you’ll fail” or “don’t try!” Never let your fears make your decisions. You make them!!
