by Ian Pek (P4 2020)

     Every time I visited the school hall, I would fondly recall the moment I stood at the podium and presented my “Good Morning School” (GMS) project for the first time.

     On that fateful day, I was walking past the canteen when I saw a poster that had big and colourful words that read “Good Morning School host needed!” I stood in front of the poster, daydreaming about how I would present a very interesting Science project. If I went up on stage and share my ideas, I would be popular!

     “If I am popular, I would not be lonely anymore!” I smiled to myself.

     I did not have many friends in school as I was shy and reserved. Going for GMS would be a difficult challenge to face as I harboured a fear of public speaking. Later in the afternoon, I mustered all my courage and went to the teacher-in-charge, Miss Tan to sign up for an interview. Even though I had stage fright, I wanted to have an open mind and to try new things.

     A few minutes after the interview, I was selected to be the host! I felt like I was on cloud nine and cheered loudly! After the interview, I rushed straight home to memorise my script. To my horror, I saw on the preparation sheet that instead of five classes, I was presenting to five levels! Sweat dripped from my temples as fast as a waterfall and I thought, “Oh, how could I have read the description wrongly…”

     Yet, I knew that meant that there was no turning back. So, I started practising. I practised all day and night, rain or shine, just to memorise my script.

     On the day of the GMS programme, my heart was pounding as fast as a machine gun. When I went up on stage, I took a deep breath and started speaking to the audience.

     “Good morning, school. Today, I am going to share some interesting facts about the amazing human nervous system!” I began my presentation.

     Once I finished my sharing session, everyone cheered and clapped for me. I felt motivated to present to an audience more often and I was very proud that I had overcome my fear of public speaking.