Second post in the same day!
Debate's over, and whoo what a day!
To the days leading up to debate, I started questioning myself why I'm taking part in this. All I'm gonna get is an hour's worth of CAS record. Is it worth it for the amount of effort I put in? But after today, I know the answer. I didn't join debate cause of what I could get in return, but heck, for the fun and excitement and adrenaline of it, it's just about as good as athletics...Though we didn't win, all that cumulated effort and research all unleashed one shot in that 6+ minutes (I was overtime I know, cause I got high on the rebuttal =) was well worth it.
And at the risk of sounding arrogant, what makes it even more worth it was the laughs at my jabs, the final applause at the end of my speech (which was honestly, the loudest. I'm really happy...) And then I got a little embarassed at the end at all the compliments and admiration I got from teamates, opponents and spectators alike. For some strange, strange reason, they seemed to think I was really good and were extremely impressed. In retrospect, all I can say for myself is, I know I've definitely improved quite a bit from my first fumbling attempt at debate. Which I still remember clearly. Trembling like a fool. A nervous wreck. How or when I improved I don't know, maybe it's because I didn't feel as pressured (which can't be helped, the way ex0 and H make me feel infinitesimally small and inferior when I debate with them =) But it was the first debate that I've ever been in where I felt confident, had fun in rebutting, and basically, completely enjoyed.
And the rest of the day, was a perk too. I guess you could say just this one simple debate gave me a lot more in return that just one hour for CAS. Suddenly, I wasn't invisible anymore. Like today at the corridor after school, Caz walks past Chrissy then I walk past Chrissy then excitedly she's saying to Caz, "Caz! Oh god you should have seen her (points at me) at debate today. She was SO good etc etc, and I was like Oh-my-god...etcetc" I can't remember what she said, she was speaking so fast. So it's like...it's a feeling of finally being accepted.
I guess that's one of the things I've been grappling with ever since I came here. From being a somebody in CHS to being "Hui-WHO?!! (to quote ex0 =) over here. I guess I want to be noticed. Only I can't make people notice me by being loud and funny and extremely sociable (like ex0, the obsessive attention seeker =P) cause I'm not good at that...In CHS, it was years of participating in this and that and everything and making a name in the things that I do that make people recognize me. And perhaps too, that's what I really meant when I said coming here, I had to start from square one. So I guess, in PLC, I've got two years to make the most of, and well, this is one heck of a start! =)
Anyway, back to the point, admittedly, the quality of the debate and debaters fell short of my expectations. I thought it'd be really competitive and all, but...urm, I mean, I've seen better ones, that's all. And there was only one adjudicator. But it's all good, and Atholl's team was a fun, cheery, laughing bunch. And I got a Crunchie bar too from my vice-captain! And the look I got from her during my speech, which was not unlike one of amazed wonderment =)
One of the funnier things doing debates here in PLC was, you know how used I am to saying Ladies and Gentlemen, well, hahahah, I had to correct myself a couple of times here. I was like, "Ladies and gen- LAY-dies." So there. Fun. Fun. Fun! =) Of course when I was at my last sentence I totally forgot about it again and went, "Ladies and gentlemen, the winds of change are blowing, and further strengthened by the above-mentioned points, are undeniably, raising a gale in favour of our stand that wind farming is NOT the best way to clean up our energy porduction. Thank you." I thought it was a pretty good ending. Apparently, they did too. =)
So that's it. That's today for you. I know this will sound really narcissistic, but hey, people here are different. You say "Wow. You're really good at this." They'll say,"Oh! Thank you!" Somehow it's different if you do that back home, you're afraid of being labelled arrogant. A reply to that would more commonly be "No-lah...*mumble mumble some reason*..."
So hey, I've learnt to say thank you too. =P
To the days leading up to debate, I started questioning myself why I'm taking part in this. All I'm gonna get is an hour's worth of CAS record. Is it worth it for the amount of effort I put in? But after today, I know the answer. I didn't join debate cause of what I could get in return, but heck, for the fun and excitement and adrenaline of it, it's just about as good as athletics...Though we didn't win, all that cumulated effort and research all unleashed one shot in that 6+ minutes (I was overtime I know, cause I got high on the rebuttal =) was well worth it.
And at the risk of sounding arrogant, what makes it even more worth it was the laughs at my jabs, the final applause at the end of my speech (which was honestly, the loudest. I'm really happy...) And then I got a little embarassed at the end at all the compliments and admiration I got from teamates, opponents and spectators alike. For some strange, strange reason, they seemed to think I was really good and were extremely impressed. In retrospect, all I can say for myself is, I know I've definitely improved quite a bit from my first fumbling attempt at debate. Which I still remember clearly. Trembling like a fool. A nervous wreck. How or when I improved I don't know, maybe it's because I didn't feel as pressured (which can't be helped, the way ex0 and H make me feel infinitesimally small and inferior when I debate with them =) But it was the first debate that I've ever been in where I felt confident, had fun in rebutting, and basically, completely enjoyed.
And the rest of the day, was a perk too. I guess you could say just this one simple debate gave me a lot more in return that just one hour for CAS. Suddenly, I wasn't invisible anymore. Like today at the corridor after school, Caz walks past Chrissy then I walk past Chrissy then excitedly she's saying to Caz, "Caz! Oh god you should have seen her (points at me) at debate today. She was SO good etc etc, and I was like Oh-my-god...etcetc" I can't remember what she said, she was speaking so fast. So it's like...it's a feeling of finally being accepted.
I guess that's one of the things I've been grappling with ever since I came here. From being a somebody in CHS to being "Hui-WHO?!! (to quote ex0 =) over here. I guess I want to be noticed. Only I can't make people notice me by being loud and funny and extremely sociable (like ex0, the obsessive attention seeker =P) cause I'm not good at that...In CHS, it was years of participating in this and that and everything and making a name in the things that I do that make people recognize me. And perhaps too, that's what I really meant when I said coming here, I had to start from square one. So I guess, in PLC, I've got two years to make the most of, and well, this is one heck of a start! =)
Anyway, back to the point, admittedly, the quality of the debate and debaters fell short of my expectations. I thought it'd be really competitive and all, but...urm, I mean, I've seen better ones, that's all. And there was only one adjudicator. But it's all good, and Atholl's team was a fun, cheery, laughing bunch. And I got a Crunchie bar too from my vice-captain! And the look I got from her during my speech, which was not unlike one of amazed wonderment =)
One of the funnier things doing debates here in PLC was, you know how used I am to saying Ladies and Gentlemen, well, hahahah, I had to correct myself a couple of times here. I was like, "Ladies and gen-
So that's it. That's today for you. I know this will sound really narcissistic, but hey, people here are different. You say "Wow. You're really good at this." They'll say,"Oh! Thank you!" Somehow it's different if you do that back home, you're afraid of being labelled arrogant. A reply to that would more commonly be "No-lah...*mumble mumble some reason*..."
So hey, I've learnt to say thank you too. =P
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