Summer
For this speech we were prompted to write and submit our own statement of personal belief. To do this I gave a narrative of my life during the summer, to convey my belief of the extreme importance of having the courage to be able to conquer your fears. We then recorded ourselves saying these speeches in order to give them a more personal aspect and to make the emotions more clearly conveyed.
Summer is not just a warm season of relaxation and getting away from responsibilities, but a time for adventure. My friends and I had always wanted to make the most out of the short time we had, so while we worked on the weekdays, we would find crazy ways to make memories on the weekends.
Specifically I remember an extra hot July morning, where we decided to go cliff jumping at the nearby woods. It was scorching out so we all were ecstatic when we heard the rushing water of the nearby falls. I threw my shoes off and rushed to the edge of the rock only to realize that I was completely terrified. There was no way people jumped off here and survived, much less do it for fun.
Then plop, plop. Five seconds later my two friends had bounded into the water with no moment’s hesitation.
I quickly looked at them, closed my eyes, refused to think, and jumped.
I survived. Clearly. I had done what I had been horrified to do just seconds before. Not only did I survive, but I enjoyed myself as well. That adrenaline rush felt euphoric. The coolness of the water, the smell of pure air, the laughter of my friends; I truly can’t even imagine a time that could be more blissful than this.
But yet, that moment almost never happened. I almost let my fear control me. I almost let my own apprehension keep me from having a memory that will last a lifetime. If I had not jumped I would have remember that experience as the time that I did not have the guts to do something that would be so much fun. But now I know it as another summer memory that shaped my adolescence.
And I still recall even now, that absolute joy and pride that I felt for conquering my fears. Maybe it’s from the spirituality of being so intimate with nature, but a sort of epiphany hit me as I hit the water. It is from this experience that I realized that conquering fears is such a vital strength to have. Not even in the danger sense, but from anything that causes fear. Quitting a job, entering a relationship, or even something as seemingly simple as striking up a conversation with a total stranger all can cause extreme distress. Yet, a majority of the time this is an imagined fear that has no rational basis. That is why it essential to take these jumps, make these risks, and live life to its fullest capacity. I believe that by demonstrating the courage to do what scares me most, I am truly living.