It was a great morning today! I attended a Toastmasters club meeting today and I got to give an extemporaneous speech and won an award. (Maybe they give awards to all the newbies… who knows?) I’m excited to go back. It was cool to meet so many nice people in my neighborhood and get to hear about so many good topics this morning. One of the topics was about change. It was so appropriate for me to hear today. None of us like change (the speaker compared it to dirty diapers which made everyone laugh) but if you want something to change you’ve got to do something different. Change it! (He didn’t talk about that, but it’s something I believe.) I refer to this often when I’m speaking to youth groups and you can listen to a radio show I did where I talked about how making one change as a youth made a big difference in my life as a young teen.
I didn’t get to pick my table topic and there was no prep time that’s why it was such a surprise to win the award. I got to talk about my favorite doll I had as a child. (I honestly think they were just being kind to me by giving me the award but) somehow I thought of what to say as I got up from the table. I told a story about the best doll I had that my mother gave me and how much I loved it. We were timed and only given 1 minute and 30 seconds. It seemed to go quickly and I managed to stay within the time limit and did not get disqualified. It was some pressure! Phew!
The club I attended had made a new change. They had elected a new presidency and it was wonderful to be there for the first day of the switch. I enjoyed learning about some of the events this club is involved in and I’m looking forward to participating more. Apparently my grandfather was a part of Toastmasters many moons ago and won several awards. My mother told me about him and his successes after I discovered Toastmasters myself and explained to her that I was interested in going to a meeting. “I know all about Toastmasters” she exclaimed. “Your grandpa was a toast MASTER!” I couldn’t believe the coincidence and I wanted to find out more about it after learning about my grandfather. The program teaches leadership and speaking skills and I think it will be rewarding to be a part of this group. I hope to improve myself and get to know more people and help to build a better community. If you’re interested in finding out more about Toastmasters click here.
