LETTER TO MY 8 YEAR OLD SELF

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Standing in front of the church to deliver a recitation, pounced with fear and stage fright, this 8-year old boy tried lurking his eyes into the ceiling. He almost wanted the ground to swallow him. It was the most embarrassing moments of my life.

Let's run back, a week before this day...

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I was given a recitation to say in church, we had a children's event and it was going to be very big. We all had a week to get ready and I can remember vividly well the passage of my recitation, Psalms 1:1-6. I was rehearsing everyday to make sure I was perfect.

But I never thought of my fears!!
I was a shy person and didn't do well with the crowd. Well I thought I was going to deliver it well since I prepared well for it.

This eight year old boy was called upon to say his recitation, I never knew that the crowd was a great one till I stood in front of the congregation. Touching the microphone showed how scared I was. Handling the microphone became hard, it was turned off and all I had to do was turn it back on, looks like I never prepared for this...I said to my little self.

Turning on the microphone became taxing, so someone had to run over to help me. The first sound that came out of my mouth was shaky and could be heard blazing out from the speakers...it was a sound of fear, trembling and anxiety.

I made an attempt to say the recitation and i couldn't remember it...I am very sure I said every word of that passage some minutes ago, I said it to mom and dad before leaving the house, I said it to my instructor when I arrived church...why couldn't I say the same thing to this crowd?

It dawn on me that I was struck with fear..I was scared and couldn't make a move. This 8- year old boy had this greatness in him but was held back by his demons... FEAR.

I was ushered back in to my seat and with my eyes sank into the ground, I listened as other kids recited happily...How were they able to do this like it was nothing?..This question kept coming over and over as I turned my eyes to look at mom who was sitting in the pews in front of me. Our eyes met and it was that of disappointment. After church, I couldn't talk to anyone and I dashed Into the streets with shame..

Mom came over to talk to me at home and thinking she was going to bash me, but she did the opposite. It was the best moments of reassuring from her. She told me she believed in my capabilities and greatness...all I needed to do was break out of that shell.

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Oh Boy!!

I know how you felt when you couldn't say your recitation, you wanted the ground to open so much. You wanted to run away from there immediately...eyes sulked in tears and all you could hope for was another chance to show that you can do it.

This is the older you from the future Son!!

This is a letter to you, telling you how far you've come...this letter is to tell you how great you have become, this letter is here to inform you that you defeated that demon..you crawled out back to the top.

You were scared that you had failed but that was just what you needed to fight back. You picked up yourself and started talking in front of dad and mom to practice your speeches.

You didn't look at how well you failed in the first attempt, you tried it one more time and you got it but you weren't still satisfied...you wanted more.

This is a letter to you, telling you that you gave a speech to hundreds of people and you weren't afraid.
You made presentations in the University in front of professors, Doctors and Lecturers and you weren't scared. You looked at them in the eyes while delivering your seminar, and project defense.

This is a letter to tell you that though you had a stage fright that made you feel down, you still fought back and you are really good at public speaking.

You didn't stop there, you also helped other little children to embrace the public eyes...you helped them to speak.

In one of the occasions you organised, you also saw a kid who reminded you of that gory day and you helped him to talk.

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You didn't just defeat fear, you also helped others defeat it. And yes you remember that shell mom talked about?

You Came out of it!!

I am writing to you to show you how far you've come, to show you that you are a strong kid, that you are the best. Don't let that 3 minutes let you down...pick up yourself, stand strong in the mirror and say to yourself ' I am the best'.

I hope this letter finds you well, I hope you grow up to see for yourself what you'd become.

I don't want to be a killjoy, I want you to experience the adventures yourself...you would certainly love it.

We Did it Son...

Goodbye Son!!!

Thanks for going through my letter...I invite @davidmarkgeorge, @onlyonefave and @bossj23 to participate in this contest.