Speech and debate has been a constant in high schools across the nation for almost a century. Founded in 1925, The National Speech and Debate Association has had its fair share of successful alumni. From Oprah, to Stephen Colbert, to Ted Cruz; NSDA molds success by teaching kids how to communicate effectively. But it goes beyond simply becoming the next big thing. As Mrs. Cecil, my coach, says, “speech isn’t an event, it’s a home.”
Throughout my time on the circuit I have heard countless stories of how Speech has changed lives. From the head of NSDA, all the way to middle schoolers still in their first season. Ashlen Grubbs, a fellow member of the Larue County Speech team states that ” Speech has given me an environment where i can thrive intellectually and as an actor. It has improved my communication skills exponentially and invited me into a community of youth just like me. I have also been given new opportunities through various connections in the speech world.”
It’s a place where people from all the country come together to express their thoughts without judgement. I can’t even begin to describe the impact this event has had on my life. I think the best way to explain it is to tell you when I knew I wanted to do speech. I knew as soon I walked into Mrs. Cecil’s room. To this day, being in that room makes me happy. I would sit in this room, and practice would be wrapping up so everyone would be chilling out, and I was just surrounded by people I liked being around. I was surrounded by former Larue County speakers. All these people who were funny, and smart, and kind. I remember thinking to myself that this was the kind of activity I wanted to be in, these were the people I would associate with. Don’t get me wrong, I love trophies, I’ve won my fair share of trophies, and if it was up to me I’d have way more trophies; but I didn’t get into this for trophies. Speech and Debate has always been about the people you meet, how you change minds, and how others change yours. Years from now I won’t have my trophies, I’ll probably lose them, I won’t have an impromptu notebook, or even a black book. But I will still have the friends I’ve made along the way. Elena Cecil and Spencer Schumacher will be at my death bed, and I will die first because I can’t imagine life without those two people. Speech goes beyond the round, beyond the trophies, beyond a rank between a 1 and a 6. Speech and debate has affected me in countless ways, it’s all about being able to say everything in only 10 minutes, but it is far too important to be summed up in a simple feature. Ironic isn’t it?