My First Presentation

My First Presentation

My father always told me that the only way to conquer one’s fear is to go through it. I never thought it would ever come a time when I would have to do precisely that and go through it. Well, the time came, and I was scared like hell. It was on a Monday morning, and we were eagerly waiting for our language teacher to come to class. Suddenly, our science teacher bumped into the classroom. It was then that I recalled we had been informed a week earlier that there would be a science presentation in our school. The teacher, together with my classmates, had settled on me to do the presentation on their behalf. I still do not know what led them to such a decision as I was the quietest and the shyest among the students. But then, I had no choice but to accept the challenge.

Throughout my life, I had never done a presentation before a vast crowd. But embracing one’s fears meant doing things that one is uncomfortable with. Ever since I was a child, I never volunteered to do anything that necessitated me standing in front of a crowd leave alone, my classmates. Therefore, doing our class project presentation was going to be the very first for me. I was quite nervous about how the performance would go. Was I going to fail my class, or was I going to make them victorious? And whatever the outcome, will people accept me? There was a significant battle going on inside my head that I needed to stop.

What most people do not know is that fear is etched in everyone’s brain. Individuals who have succeeded in conquering it have used it as a motivator and successfully overcome it by going through it. I knew that it was time for me to stop hiding behind my fears and instead use them as a weapon for my success. My classmates did not leave me alone with my inner battles as they gave me words of encouragement that were aimed at motivating me. Some of them even composed chants that they used as praises. All I wanted was to make my classmates proud by giving an excellent presentation when called upon as well as completely do away with the fear inside me as it was a significant barrier to a great success story. Therefore, I did not complain. All I was waiting to hear was the judge call out my name for me to get into the hall.

Finally, when I had the judge call out my name, I immediately froze on my seat. I became so nervous that I felt like my heartbeat had increased its pace. But my classmates did not leave me all by myself at this crucial time. They cheered me on, which gave me the courage to get on my feet and walked numbly into the podium. I then put up the microphone to begin my presentation. During the performance, there was applause from the audience and the judges. It was the applauses that drove my fears away and made me more bold and courageous in the presentation. At the end of the competition, our class had emerged top of the competition. I was a hero to my classmates for the rest of the day.

Many things can motivate people to do great things. But the most prevailing motivator of them all is fear. From this experience, I learned a lifetime lesson; fear can motivate an individual to achieve greatness.  It is an intrinsic instinct that acts as an alarm in the effort of saving us when in trouble. At the same time, it helps keep people alert to avoid other unwarranted problems. Yes, it makes us uncomfortable, but it also keeps us alive and directs us to the right path to success.

I have had many kinds of fear in me that, after that, I can confidently say went away after that first experience in my life. Of course, everybody fears pain, injury, and disease. Humans also have a fear of being accepted and that of missing an opportunity. My biggest fear has always been a failure and that of being rejected. This first presentation made me conquer these fears head-on and thus realized that my worries were all baseless. I realized that success only comes to those that take risks. The goals I had were right there in front of me and were only blocked by my fears.

I have now realized that fear overrides intelligence and stops people from moving toward their goals. Since my dreams have always been to be successful, this moment activated my desire to conquer my fears. I then began the journey to master them by developing self-confidence and mastering the motivation behind the desire for success. Having confidence does not mean that there is no fear, but learning how to put the concerns under control. Building self-discipline is also crucial in the journey to conquer my fears as I will be able to do what I have to do to achieve long-term rewards. All my achievements now are all because of that first presentation that made me take responsibility for my circumstances and situation.