Taking Chances

“You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don’t take.”

- Wayne Gretzky

From the ordering take-out, to choosing a baby name, we have all come to a point in our lives when we have been faced with a choice. I have seen too many people always choosing the same thing, the same methods, the same path they travel every time. It pains me to see so few people who are willing to try new things.

One of these things is “the usual”. When I go out to eat or see a character on TV and they ask for “the usual”, it bothers me probably more than it should. If someone has the same thing in the same place so many times that the waiters know exactly what they want, they have a problem. If you do find yourself saying this, I would advise you to either go to a new restaurant, try something different, or at least put some jalapenos on it.

If you try new things a bit more often, you might fall in love with something you never knew you liked. When I first joined FFA, my advisor asked (well, made) my class to memorize and recite the FFA Creed, by E.M Tiffany. Pretty soon, “I believe in the future of agriculture” had been branded into my memory. When I presented to my class, I was shocked to learn that I had aced the assignment.

My advisor urged me to recite the Creed competitively at the sub-district Creed competition. Even though I was nervous, shaking, and sweating like a pig cooking bacon, I had a great time giving the presentation, and continued to build on my speaking skills by competing in other competitions.

This Friday, I will be presenting my speech, titled Green Ag for Blue Water, at the District 9 Prepared Public Speaking competition, in which I placed fourth in District 9 last year. I will be giving another presentation for the report I have prepared for the FBLA Business Plan competition, in which I placed fifth in the state of Washington last year.

I have improved my speaking skills by a lot more than I ever thought I would, since presenting the FFA Creed, and I now believe myself to be a seasoned public speaker. I encourage everyone to try new things every time they get the chance; another one may never come.

Kimberly Nelson is a senior at Odessa High School. She has been working at The Record after school on Wednesdays to upload our content onto our website.