"A very good morning to Puan Junaidah bt Haji Jaafar, the Principal of SMK (P) Treacher Methodist, Taiping, Senior Assistants, Senior teachers, teachers and all my beloved friends. I am Sharon Ng Huey Yuek from the class of 2011. First and foremost, I would like to thank the teachers for giving me the golden opportunity to speak on this stage as an ex-student. I am here to share with you some titbits on STUDY TIPS. (solemn voice)"
*Hundreds of eyes twinkling at me, giving a weird stare, necks elongated.
Script gripped tightly in my left palm, I was shaking with fear, legs trembling like jelly. I never used to have such stage fright, I mean, I used to speak on stage all the time! However, my brain kept signalling me to calm down and narrate one word at a time, clearly and loudly.
"You might have pictured me as a studious bookworm who buries my nose into think stacks of books twenty-four hours and seven days in a week. You've got me wrong. I am neither any special nor any different from all of you. (Serious yet soft tone) In fact, I am your typical teenager who loves school and music, besides embracing the television set, hanging out with friends and an avid reader of...(pause for effect) Facebook."
The initially neat crowd began bursting in laughter. I was bewildered. Yeah, I'm telling the truth, I am a hardcore fan of Facebook, so yeah.
I was stunned. Soon after that I began crapping for no distinct reason. From pre-class studies to revision, from studies to health. From mind maps to taking part attentively in class. I had a string of bombastic points and quotes well written in my freshly-prepared script, and speaking impromptu ended up being a total flip-flop!
Sweat almost trickled down my forehead as the surrounding gets warmer and warmer. Worst? Speech with the "Erms", "Ah"s...
AAARRRGGGHHH!!! WHAT ON EARTH AM I DOING? I CAN'T SPEAK FLUENTLY!
I only got to know that I was supposed to deliver a speech during assembly two days ago. Thanks to my silly-dilly-dally attitude, I only prepared the speech yesterday-near midnight!
From a supposedly powerful piece of writing, it descended into a relatively short, three minutes in length of scrambled-up sentences. (So if you wish to know what am I talking about, please read here!
As I spoke about the influence of health towards studies, (I advised my juniors not to burn the midnight oil, eat good food and pursue their hobbies in moderation), I asked them spontaneously: "Can you bear studying 24 hours a day? Surely can drive you crazy, right?"
Thank God! There is an encouraging response! The crowd chanted a loud "YES!" and it ensued with laughter.
I know, my speech is nowhere above par, with my speech marred by various unforgivable grammar errors, mainly due to Manglish. (Malaysian colloquial English)
However, my teacher commented that my speech is darn hilarious. Is it? Hopefully so. I would love listening to people who speak funny by the way!
At least, I succeeded in breaking the spell-the spell of silence that lingered around the otherwise solemn school atmosphere! :P
*******
Oh, by the way, I am eligible for the PSD scholarships! Hurrah! Hard work pays!
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