I am just a nobody who is purposed to glorify Somebody.
I was called to write.
I can still remember my 4th grade teacher announcing that we were all to enter the Tropicana Speech contest. You were eligible and required to enter this contest if you were a fourth or fifth grade student. Basically, you could write about anything your little heart desired and you needed to memorize and practice that speech like there was no tomorrow. You were given about a month (I believe it was) to complete and memorize most, if not all, of your speech. If you won first place in your classroom, you would proceed to the next round where you would present your speech to the entire school. Participation was worth a pretty big chunk of our grades and obviously, being nine years old, writing was relatively new to us. I had never written more than instructed by my fellow teachers– which was only a few pages. I knew that I was a good storyteller (just ask my little sister), but I had no idea that I could write a story and present it to an entire school. I guess we learn a lot about ourselves as children. I know I did.
Ms. Schmidt, our teacher, was an older woman with big, blonde hair and an intimidating demeanor. She was a tough old bird, but I saw the good in her. I hoped I did at least. She was strict when she gave deadlines and was unforgiving if you failed to meet them. I, of course, was a little procrastinator. I either had a reasonable excuse or made up a reasonable sounding excuse; however, Ms. Schmidt never bought it. Nope, not a single word. I remember walking into class that morning and reading the most frightening words on the board, “TROPICANA SPEECH FINAL DRAFT AND PRESENTATION DUE TODAY.”
‘Oh no! Are the speeches really due TODAY?’ I thought… but Ms. Schmidt did not lie about deadlines.
I checked the board once more to make sure that it was not an illusion. It wasn’t, but the second time I read the board, I noticed the fine print. It read, “Extra points to those who present their speeches without notecards.”
Lightbulb. I had a plan.
I quickly pulled out a pencil and a sheet of paper.
“Would anyone like to volunteer to go first?” Ms. Schmidt asked.
No one raised their hands.
“Alright, I will choose if we have no volunteers.”
To my advantage and by the grace of God, she did not call me first…or second…or third…or fourth.
My topic: Dinosaurs. My inspiration: The Land Before Time. I wrote about the awesomeness of T-Rexes, Spiketails, Three-horns, and Longnecks for about as long as I could… until she called my name.
“C-c-can I g-go l-l-last, M-m-ms. S-s-schmidt?” I asked timidly.
“You may present your speech now, Jessica,” She responded icily.
“Yes, Ma’am…” I hesitated. I walked to the front of the classroom sluggishly, without my paper, just my imagination.
After I finally made it to the front of the classroom, I dared to look at Ms. Schmidt, who was looking at me suspiciously. She asked me where my note cards were and I told her I didn’t need them. She gave me the ‘you are so full of it’ look. She reset the timer and told me to “go.” So I did. I stuttered a bit at first, but once I got going, I couldn’t stop. I even caused her and the students to laugh! I used many hand gestures and paced around the classroom. Our speeches needed to be no less than three minutes short and no more than five minutes long. I barely made it past three minutes. After I finished my speech, everyone applauded me and I felt so awesome. I seriously made that entire thing up on the spot, and to my surprise, she gave me third place. Ladies and gentlemen, if you have the will and if you put your mind to it, you can truly do anything.
The next year, fifth grade, we did the Tropicana Speech once again; and, because I had so much fun presenting my “speech” the year before, I was determined to give it my all that year. I worked my abs on!
My Topic: My “Evil” Little Sister– A.K.A. The Cookie Thief. My inspiration: My sweet, innocent little sister (pictured below). 😉
I couldn’t help but post this picture! LOL Willow’s (the cat) face is hilarious!
My Fifth grade teacher (I cannot remember her name!) placed me at first that year. And trust me, there was no favoritism because she was my Math teacher. I then proceeded to the next round where I competed against many other first placers in front of the entire school! Boy, was I excited. One thing first, two of the three judges (also teachers) had their daughters competing. Their daughters were also best friends, which most likely meant that their mothers were buddies, too. Well, coincidentally, those two girls somehow came in first and second place. Guess who came in third place? Yep! I did! Sadly, third placers are not eligible to compete with the other county schools, but first and second place are. Hmmmm….
But on the bright side: I got a free pan pizza from Pizza Hut, so that was good. 🙂
Oh! Back to my point: That is how I discovered the gifts God has given me. My goal is to one day become an author and have published several novels. I do have a lot to learn, but I believe that God will teach me as I walk in complete surrender and obedience to Him.
his forerunner 
