Personal Narrative: My Fear Of Public Speaking In High School

One of the biggest fears I have had to overcome in high school is my fear of public speaking. I was always comfortable in the classroom; I loved discussing current events and explaining different biology and history to my friends, but I could not stand in front of them to give a presentation. Whenever I stood in front of my classmate speak, I would begin to shake so much that I could not read any notes I may have brought up with me. I was an absolute wreck and I hated that I could not overcome my phobia; however, my fear of public speaking is incredibly ironic because my sister teaches public speaking on a collegiate level. When I told my sister that I was horrified of standing up and speaking in front of my classmates, she was surprised. My sister told me that I could not let my fear stop me from speaking because I would likely never get over it. In addition, she

told me that my nervousness meant that I cared and that the only way to be comfortable with my fear would be to speak more. Consequently, I took my sister’s advice to heart and I dove head first into public speaking.
During my freshman year of high school, I decided to participate in a program called Teen Court.

Teen Court is a program that trains teens to act as attorneys for other teens that have admitted guilt to misdemeanor crimes. The program has 6 training session and the closer I got to finishing it the more I thought about dropping out. I had an interest in criminal justice, and there was no pressure to act as an attorney, but if I knew that if I finished the training I would fulfill the role of an attorney. After talking to my sister, I realized that I wanted to quit for all the wrong reasons, so I decided to push through my fear and become certified. Eventually, I gathered the nerves to take a case as a prosecution attorney in Teen Court. I spent hours preparing a speech and practicing my questioning, but on the day of the Trial, I was absolutely petrified. I was self-conscious about everything I did and to be honest, I did not do a particularly amazing job. What I achieved was more than that though; I broke out of my shell, faced my fear of public speaking, and saw that it was not as bad as I made it

seem.
With each passing year in Teen Court I became a better speaker, and while I while I would not call public speaking a passion, it is fun. I love getting up in front of my classes to talk now because I realized that public speaking is not going to kill me freshman year. I have even received rewards at the Kentucky Youth Assembly for speaking, which is an amazing turnaround from when I was too scared to speak to my class.