SpeechCraft: The Choices We Make

It was our final evening for the SpeechCraft Course and we were to deliver two speeches. One is a celebratory speech, 200 words. I did it in a rush. Just wrote about a speech for a Service Recognition Award (20 years) and I based the story from one of my colleagues who've been with us for more than 20 years. It was delivered in a minute and a half. My evaluator noted that it was clear and delivered well.

Another is an inspirational speech, 430 words. My teacher said that the speech was entertaining and motivational, borderline inspirational. But at the end of the evalluation, he changed his mind and said that it was indeed an inspirational speech. Again he said that I was good with my facial expressions, my gestures were just right and I didn't look nervous at all.

This is the inspirational speech that I delivered and it's 466 words, delivered in 4 minutes:

When you make a choice, notice that everything in your life follows that choice.

I remember that time when I started taking French language lessons. The course was expensive and most of the people who were taking it either had a French partner, or were intending to move to Canada. You get extra points from immigration if you know the language. I didn’t have the guts to tell my family the real reason why I’m doing it, which was to eventually read Les Miserables in French.

I come from a working class family. My parents worked hard so I can earn a degree, so I can get a job to support myself, get married and have kids. Then do the cycle again.

Thus taking language lessons just didn’t make any sense even though I already had a decent job. I pretended that I too was planning to migrate to Canada. And migrating always made practical sense as it meant better opportunities, a better life.

It was in that class where I met two women, both were strangers to each other but both happened to have met someone named Gio. Gio was organizing a 5 day island hopping camping adventure. They extended his invitation to me. And that’s when I made a conscious decision to try something different. Therefore I went with a group of 15 strangers for a week at the Palaui Group of islands on the northern tip of the Philippines. And it was AMAZING!

I went to other adventures in the months that followed, climbing mountains, exploring beaches, and sampling the local delicacies. I met more like-minded individuals along the way as a different worId, which I never thought existed, slowly opened up for me. I picked up a lifestyle of cheap travel so I can get to more destinations. I learned how to budget for me to be ready for the next trip. I learned how to find my way in a new place. I became confident with myself. I learned to step out of my comfort zone. And for the first time in my life I felt free.

I realized that I was free to choose a lifestyle. And all it takes is to make a conscious choice of trying things out. Forget what other people think. Don’t overthink it! Just do it! You never know what you don’t know. And if it turns out ok, just keep going. If not, then stop. Learn from the experience and do something else. You just need to start doing and that makes looking back even more fulfilling. I chose to travel to as many places across the Philippine archipelago and within two years since I left for Palaui, and I did!

And in those travels, I met my husband. We both have itchy feet.