Salam,
This semester I signed up for an online class and there was this one assignment where we had to share two separate stories about our accomplishments and each story should include :
1 ) My goal
2) The obstacle / hurdle that I faced
3) What I did
4) What was the result
I thought of sharing my response here. So here goes my response :
I first debated when I was 16 years old. It was a yearly program where the English club of my school would hold an interclass debate competition. As I was one of the students who excel in class for English subject, I was chosen by my classmates to represent the class. Little did I know that being good in written English does not necessarily guarantees you a good verbal skill as well. Long story short, I was eliminated in the first round of the competition. I was the third speaker for my team but I did horribly poor. I could not even utter words properly, let alone making a solid argument to counter the opponent's view. I was mocked in front of the crowd by the opponent's team as they claimed that they could not understand a word I was saying, and could not even tell if I was speaking English or some other foreign language.
As soon as the round ended, I went to the back of the school alone to soothe myself. I needed a break from what I had experienced; mockery and humiliation. It took me a while to get me back on my feet. I told myself that everything is going to be alright and that it was just a competition, nothing more than that. I tried to convince myself that this was actually a good exposure for me to boost my confidence level and also to improve my verbal skills.
A year passed and the same competition was held. Again, I was chosen to represent my class. Only this time, I was even more prepared than I was ever before. I was really looking forward to this and did some homework myself and was also aiming to get into at least the semifinals. During the whole year gap, I trained myself to converse with people around me in English and also looked up some videos that give out some useful tips about debating ( I had zero knowledge about it when I was 16). Rounds after rounds, my team finally managed to secure a spot, not in the semifinals, but the finals itself. The pressure became more intense as the finals were going to be held in the main hall, witnessed by the whole school, and also some guest judges that I never met before. Even though we lost the final, I was extremely proud of myself because I won the best speaker. I looked back at myself and thought the hard work had really paid off.
Another accomplishment that I could think right now would be me being able to get out of my comfort zones here in U of M. It might not be a big of an achievement to other people but it sure is huge for me. I was never a sports person nor am I an extrovert. I have always been shy and silent. I studied in a community college in Washington for two years which should be sufficient to familiarize myself with the surrounding but it turned out that two years was not enough for me. Other than being able to fulfill the transfer requirements, getting good grades and secured myself in U of M, I would say that I have nothing else that I had achieved.
However, being a student here in U of M has totally changed my life ina way that I began to speak out and tried new things. I would not say that it is all U of M's cause but given the chance to be admitted here sure open a lot of opportunities for improvement. To begin with, U of M has a big Malaysian community which I can immerse myself into. I started going to events and mingle with new people while developing my social skills. It was really hard at first to start a conversation but once you passed that phase everything would not seem that hard anymore. There was also this one point where one of the people I met invited me to join their volleyball team. I never pictured a time where I would be seen in the gym playing volleyball ever. Now, we are playing on a weekly basis. had I not challenge myself to try something new, I would have never been able to do things I am doing today.
This semester I signed up for an online class and there was this one assignment where we had to share two separate stories about our accomplishments and each story should include :
1 ) My goal
2) The obstacle / hurdle that I faced
3) What I did
4) What was the result
I thought of sharing my response here. So here goes my response :
I first debated when I was 16 years old. It was a yearly program where the English club of my school would hold an interclass debate competition. As I was one of the students who excel in class for English subject, I was chosen by my classmates to represent the class. Little did I know that being good in written English does not necessarily guarantees you a good verbal skill as well. Long story short, I was eliminated in the first round of the competition. I was the third speaker for my team but I did horribly poor. I could not even utter words properly, let alone making a solid argument to counter the opponent's view. I was mocked in front of the crowd by the opponent's team as they claimed that they could not understand a word I was saying, and could not even tell if I was speaking English or some other foreign language.
As soon as the round ended, I went to the back of the school alone to soothe myself. I needed a break from what I had experienced; mockery and humiliation. It took me a while to get me back on my feet. I told myself that everything is going to be alright and that it was just a competition, nothing more than that. I tried to convince myself that this was actually a good exposure for me to boost my confidence level and also to improve my verbal skills.
A year passed and the same competition was held. Again, I was chosen to represent my class. Only this time, I was even more prepared than I was ever before. I was really looking forward to this and did some homework myself and was also aiming to get into at least the semifinals. During the whole year gap, I trained myself to converse with people around me in English and also looked up some videos that give out some useful tips about debating ( I had zero knowledge about it when I was 16). Rounds after rounds, my team finally managed to secure a spot, not in the semifinals, but the finals itself. The pressure became more intense as the finals were going to be held in the main hall, witnessed by the whole school, and also some guest judges that I never met before. Even though we lost the final, I was extremely proud of myself because I won the best speaker. I looked back at myself and thought the hard work had really paid off.
Another accomplishment that I could think right now would be me being able to get out of my comfort zones here in U of M. It might not be a big of an achievement to other people but it sure is huge for me. I was never a sports person nor am I an extrovert. I have always been shy and silent. I studied in a community college in Washington for two years which should be sufficient to familiarize myself with the surrounding but it turned out that two years was not enough for me. Other than being able to fulfill the transfer requirements, getting good grades and secured myself in U of M, I would say that I have nothing else that I had achieved.
However, being a student here in U of M has totally changed my life ina way that I began to speak out and tried new things. I would not say that it is all U of M's cause but given the chance to be admitted here sure open a lot of opportunities for improvement. To begin with, U of M has a big Malaysian community which I can immerse myself into. I started going to events and mingle with new people while developing my social skills. It was really hard at first to start a conversation but once you passed that phase everything would not seem that hard anymore. There was also this one point where one of the people I met invited me to join their volleyball team. I never pictured a time where I would be seen in the gym playing volleyball ever. Now, we are playing on a weekly basis. had I not challenge myself to try something new, I would have never been able to do things I am doing today.
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