When
I was in high school, I did not have the use of a car to drive to and
from school. A school bus picked me up at the end of our driveway which
was a short distance from our farm house. All five of us Groves kids
rode the same bus to whatever school we were attending - elementary
grades 1 - 8 or high school grades 9 - 12. There were very few if any
students who drove themselves to school during my years of high school.
Maybe there was an after school bus later that took boys home if they
stayed for football, basketball or track practice but there were no
school sports for girls at that time so girls never needed to stay after
school for a late bus nor were girls in any organized sport programs.
In
that area, the student chose a subject then wrote and memorized a
speech which took four minutes to recite. I did that each year and
practiced a number of times in classes that allowed a student to present
their work before going before judges at meets held on college
campuses. I also practiced my speeches in the haymow of our barn while I
was helping my Dad with the milking each evening. I would have to
throw hay down for the cows from the haymow so I would do that and
recite my speech to the rafters in the barn. I worked diligently on my
memorization because I knew that if I forgot what came next at any point
in the presentation and had to be prompted, I would be automatically
disqualified from placing in that event. I wrote a different speech
each year for three years and entered the Forensic Contest each year.
Each of those three years I froze at some point and had to be prompted
before continuing. I would get encouraging notes from the judges about
my speech content or my delivery but each time I was unable to place at
the meet. Though it was heart-breaking and embarrassing for me, I kept
trying to overcome my fears of failure and chose the same option each
year for three years.
Probably I always knew that there was an
area called Interpretive Reading of Prose in the Forensics program. I
must have thought that area was too easy for a serious forensics
participant and therefore I shouldn't choose that thing that "anyone"
could do because it didn't require much brain power. But for my senior
year in high school, I decided to switch to Interpretive Reading of
Prose for my Forensics entry. I chose a story about a dog - probably
Lassie - and again diligently practiced reading my selection to the
rafters in our haymow. I loved reading and using my voice to convey the
feelings and drama of the story. I probably had that story nearly
memorized but it felt so wonderful to be reading a script rather that
have to rely on my memory exclusively for the presentation.
This decision had a happy ending for me. I received a top rating at the first meet and qualified for the state meet which was held at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. There I also received the top rating along with encouraging notes from the judge and someone in the audience who had heard my presentation. I was very grateful for that praise but doubts would linger for a long time about my “taking the easy road instead of the more difficult road” and therefore not really having achieved something because of outstanding ability. I would eventually learn about God’s gifts to His children. As I began to grasp God’s plans for me, I would more clearly see that the reason something seems exceptionally easy is not because it is easy for everyone but because it is God’s gift for His uniquely created child. How grateful I am to God that prose reading has been and still is a love of mine. My children and grandchildren have been the recipients of my adult life prose reading sessions which have been sweet for them and for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment