A Lesson in Confidence from First Grade

I was in first grade when I moved to a new school. After a few days, we had our assembly. This might not be big for everyone, but for a 7-year-old, it was huge. My teacher told me that I would be participating in an assembly. I was hesitant, but by that time, I had made a few friends.

She first convinced me to participate in the assembly. I practiced very hard, but on the assembly day, I got nervous and was about to chicken out when my teacher came to my rescue. She gave me advice on how to nail this assembly.

She gave me some advice that I still use.

She said to focus on one person in there only on one person. She said, “Your whole job is to impress that one person.”

I went on stage super confident, but I still messed up my speech, not because of nervousness but because a few words were not fluent on my tongue. I was just 7 years old, and many words were popping up in my way every day.

Well, I still use this advice. I can tell you that this works.

I have seen many students who dare not to attend the assembly from their class. They are confused and worried about their performance. My teacher's advice helped me to confront the crowd confidently. My teacher's advice helped me throughout my educational sessions. Many parents and teachers just want results and don't focus on the hurdles on the way.

Kids during their early age need continuous help in overcoming their shyness so they may face the audience with a strong personality. Small tips and tricks help us boost our confidence. The cited incident is proof that small actions and practices help kids face the audience.

We ignore our role and leave kids on their own and think with time they will improve their confidence and on the other hand kids wait for their elders to help them and support them in combating difficult tasks and missions of life.

This has made me recall a joke. Let me tell you the joke so you may understand my point of view and laugh along with me. A man was competing in elections. This was his first-ever public contest. He was quite nervous but bravely fought all issues until one day he was told that He would address a gathering of 500 people. He has never been to such a huge gathering.

He went to his close friend and shared his problem with him. He thought for a while and asked him to practice in front of cabbages. It was cabbages' season and thousands of cabbages were getting ready to be reaped in the nearby field. He advised him to address cabbages as cabbages look like heads of people. That man started preparing his speech. He daily went to the cabbages' field and spent 2 to 3 hours while addressing them. His practice was quite good. The day of the meeting was quite close so he started practicing twice a day. Finally, the time to address the huge gathering arrived. The stage was set and that man appeared on the stage. The first sentence he spoke was " Cabbages are cabbages and men are men". It means that practicing before cabbages can not turn up your confidence. Cabbages are like heads but without eyes and mouths. In short, that man could not address the audience.

I am now 11 years old and in grade 5. Now, I confidently participate in my school gatherings.

Originally published in Medium