My literacy Narrative Story

By Maurice J.

9/17/2025

English

Professor Macagnore

So in my Earliest years I would say back in high school the classroom to me honestly felt like a

stage of intimidation. It felt like whenever I talked I shrunk under the weight of so many piercing

eyes glaring down at me. This will be my narrative Journey where i will introduce you to a feared

tongued tied child who lacked bravery in his speech this journey was not arranged it was filled

with fraught and so much anxiety however i did have a few small victories here and there but so

many occasional setbacks now from each of my experiences weather that be from many

fumbled speeches or successful presentations they all played a very huge and crucial role in

building my relationship with having public speaking skills. The experiences helped transform

these skills into a manageable and possibly even an enjoyable skill. So this is the story of me

finding my voice in an anxiety filled classroom.

Trial of error

So my earliest memory of my public speaking had to have began in 3rd grade the

anxieties and embarrassment i had as a kid was unimaginable we were assigned this short

assignment presentation it was about describing yourself as a person your hobbies your favorite

animals and your future career I chose my favorite animal as a Koala because i never got to

hug one and i think their hugs are pretty strong i also feel like their intelligent animals always

climbing in trees however when it was my turn to present standing in front of my classmates the

words in my mouth turned into nothing but air i was just a mannequin heart pumping in chest

palms all sweaty my voice even trembled as i spoke, i remembered how the crowd of faces

gave me almost a heart attack so when i was midway through my presentation i sometimes

mixed up the words and even froze on my slides the silence however felt like an entirety if i had

to give the exact time i say it felt like an hour long period of silence i had to mumble my

apologies as i tried to be as professional as possible as a third grader i then rushed right back

to my seat i couldnt even end off my presentation properly due to my anxiety. This experience

just solidified my fear of public speaking into an environment of just judgment and vulnerability.

Spark of hope

So in the 7th grade my new teacher introduced himself, let’s just call them Bob, so

instead of us doing the formal old basic presentation we actually had to engage into so many

regular class discussions like think pair and shares or fishbowls I used to hate, fishbowls not

gonna lie. We also did debates i feel as if these activities were less structured then and i felt like

they were more on the conversational side this however allowed me to share my thoughts

feelings without feeling pressured or a weight of eyes on me however i remained very hesitant

and i preferred to listen then speak but due to my teacher’s encouragement and their support i

had got out of my shell that i was living in pretty quickly i started off with short answers andsmall comments things that would basically require minimal exposure or attention but then

overtime i gained confidence in myself and then i realized how it was all apart of my teacher

plan to get to me practice my speaking skills little by little this also helped me realize speaking in

public really wasn’t about having flawless speeches but it was mainly about connecting with

your audience and sharing your ideas with your audience.

New challenges Arise

So in high school it brought so many challenges that i can recall the most impactful

challenge had to definitely be my debate class just the thought of just arguing with my

classmates kind of filled me with dread i kind of envisioned myself having so many flaws in my

speeches like stuttering over words and mixing them up and even contradicting myself on my

own arguments which would be embarrassing to me but i knew i couldnt avoid this so i sucked it

up and even imagined myself being judged or even ridiculed over my arguments this only

motivated me to spend hours researching on my assigned topic practicing my delivery and even

preparing my own arguments i had to argue with myself in the mirror for a couple of minutes

definitely when nobody is around though so when the day of my debate arrived i felt so nervous

i just focused on what i had like the facts and evidence i had collectively gathered. I then spoke

decently clearly and responding to my opponents points with ease and even presenting my own

which surprised myself i didnt even freeze or stutter i just let my mind flow i was kind of enjoying

our little intellectual nerd off sparing this experience was a turning point which proved to me that

i can most definitely overcome my fear in a pressured environment.

Connecting with my voice

I feel like the people who we surround ourselves with offer us great opportunities

to enhance whatever skills we need to enhance for example our speaking skills I remember

when me and my friend had this long debate over a video game character and if he needed to

be weaken since he was too overpowered or if he needed to be buffed in the game i felt like

these little experiences that people like myself wouldn’t really look back on would help transform

my approach to public speaking i definitely learned how to craft my very own compelling

narratives i could definitely thank the creepypasta youtube podcast i listen to for that i wanted to

use persuasive language to connect with my audience on a emotional level though i had to use

my vivid imagery to definitely bring my speeches to life i want my audience to envision what im

seeing i kind of then began seeing public speaking as something to learn from and challenge

yourself with.

Conclusion

So my journey from the fearful child I was in 3rd grade to now a somewhat a little

more confident speaker has been for me personally a transformative experience that has taught

me the importance of preparation and the value of learning from your mistakes. So as Icontinue on this journey I’m just very grateful for all the challenges that arose because it shaped

me into the person I am today. It also made me find my voice in a classroom.