Good day to all! How's your day so far? Is it good? Or not so good? Anyway, I am here to share my five-minute midterm speech in Purposive Communication that talks about that one experience that left an impact on my life. So, the title of my speech is Believe In You. It is a bit long since it is a five-minute speech so thank you in advance if you finish it all. Hahaha.

Believe In You

I can't do it. I am not confident. I am not good enough. These were my everyday thoughts that keep running on my mind. I know many youths can relate to this. Well, who doesn't? Even the people that I seek advice to who by the way are older than me have these thoughts. Yes, I can say that it is inescapable. It is a never-ending battle with yourself. However, these negative thoughts brought me to discovering myself deeper that made me who I am today. And it's all thanks to my experience in pageantry.

Yes, I did join a pageant and I was a first-timer at that time. I was absolutely afraid and anxious back then. So, why did I even join if I'm scared? Honestly, I rejected my mother thrice when she told me that I should join our barangay pageant. Then, my whole family tried to convince me and tell me motivating words about myself, which I wish were all true. That's right, you heard me, it just proved that I was not confident about myself. That's why when my mother asked me why I do not want to enter the pageant, I told her these exact three words, "Hindi ko kaya". I cannot do it. I cannot bear to be in front of a huge crowd. I cannot bear seeing people scrutinizing me. I cannot bear being embarrassed. And most of all, I cannot bear looking at my family's disappointment if I wouldn't win any awards. All of these worries were set in my mind even if I haven't tried it yet. It felt like it was already carved in me that I was not good enough to give it a go.

Then, I stumbled upon this one video on YouTube and its thumbnail got my attention: "Believe in you ". I watched the video. From this, one specific statement hit me hard enough to change my mind — Excuses, fear, and doubt have no place in our life. At that point, I felt that it was a sign for me to take that opportunity and to be out of my comfort zone. And I think that is one of the best decisions I made in my whole existence because guess what? I won the crown. I cannot exactly remember what happened that night because of how fast everything went on. However, I could recall this one moment when everyone was cheering for me, I saw how my mother smiled with her eyes screaming pride and joy. It might sound cheesy but I think that was the real prize for me that night. And because of that, all my doubts vanished. I gained confidence, I trusted myself more, and I realized that I am the only one that can defeat those negative impressions about myself.

However, my pageant journey did not stop there. Well, I thought it was the end but no, it was not because I needed to represent our barangay in the biggest pageant in our municipality. This time around, can you guess how I felt about it? To be honest, I was again afraid and pressured but not hesitant to join because it was such an honor to carry the name of your place and I know people were supporting me. See the difference between me before? It was all because I challenged myself from the things I believed I couldn't embrace. Therefore, I felt that I would be fine with another contest. I also assumed that those dark feelings will never come back. I already imagined myself smiling and enjoying the competition. Yet, a surge of familiar feelings enveloped my whole existence during my one-month training.

The first and second weeks were fine. But in the third week, it started to kick in. I felt like I was not having progress in all aspects that I needed to improve. To add more to my overthinking, I searched for other girls and I learned how strong and experienced they are. So, an unwanted idea popped into my mind and that was backing out in the competition. I knew I was being a coward. I knew I was being a weakling. And I knew I was going back to square one. But that was not the worst part of it because the training and practice I had became forced. I woke up every day feeling tired even when I slept for about eight hours. It was liked I was locked up in a black hole of negativity and I didn't have any plans to get out. Those were the most stressful and the lowest days of my life.

I was on the verge of giving up. However, when I look at people surrounding me who supported me from the start and continuing their best to help me with all their might, I paused and smiled. It was so foolish of me to think that I was fighting alone when many people believed in me. Instead of letting myself be surrounded by clouds of darkness, I let the clouds of happiness reign on me by knowing that I have amazing people behind my back. So, even though I did not win the title, being 2nd runner-up was still so rewarding. No, let's redefine that — being the bearer of the name of our barangay, the fact that there were people who will forever support me whatever the outcome was, and standing on the stage leaving all my insecurities and worries —were the things I can call rewarding.

Looking back I couldn't help but be proud of my achievement and growth. If you would ask me if I will do it again? Well, definitely, yes! Because I do not regret any moment of it instead I cherished every second of those memories. I know that there will be more challenging days or unexpected hurdles in the future and if that time comes, I will never run from it. Let's not run from it. As those experiences will surely turn us into an individual who knows and is aware of oneself. It will also make us learn and realize a multitude of lessons that I personally didn't recognize before such as the importance of having good people around you. To end this speech of mine, I would like to share my bottom line: Do not be stressed about things that you cannot control rather focus on things you can control. Hence, focus on believing and loving yourself because these are the important driving forces that you have full control of. And only you, your unique and perfectly flawed self, can do that.

The End :)))

What do you think about my speech, guys? Is it enough to get some high grades? Hahaha. I am planning to record my video speech on Saturday so wish me luck to finish it early without mistakes. By the way, I wanna ask you guys a question.

What is that one experience that changed you?

Comment down or write an article about it then tag me because I would love to read it! :))

Thank you!! Lovelots & God bless us all!