"Unexpected Passions" by Joseph M

 

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars and change the world - Harriet Tubman. This powerful quote by Tubman is essentially saying that we all have a passion within us and the ability to change society for the better. That your dreams pour into your passions and you are helping people by doing what you love. The real question is: “How do I find my passion? How do I find the spark to ignite the flames?” I at one time was asking myself that question until it was answered 2 years ago.

I was a sophomore and had Mr. Dinkelman for Honors World History at the time. The year was 2016 and we were in the B Buildings before they were destroyed and had better traffic flow. The year was winding down and it was April when we had our last project for the year. We collaborated with a club called Model United Nations, or MUN, which is modeled after the real UN. They showed a brief presentation what the club was about and then they described our project: we picked a real-world crisis topic, then we represent a country, we research our country policy for the issue, and then we put it into a research paper for a grade. So I chose cyber terrorism because it is a real issue that we all face in this technological world and I was representing the United States of America. I did my research, typed my paper, turned it in and got an A. Then Mr. D said there was extra credit for the project.

So, basically, we would go to school on a Saturday to do a four-hour E-MUN (Etiwanda MUN) which is an actual debate on the topic with our classmates. When I heard this, I was excited for the extra credit but, I was nervous for the public speaking. At this time, I wasn’t the most confident speaker and I would stutter on my words even if I was fully prepared. On top of all that, the only debating “experience” I had was in our english socratic seminars. So my decision to go was as split as the Red Sea. What ultimately urged me to go was the fact of extra credit and that I got to dress up. I thought to myself, “how bad could it be?”

That Saturday, I packed my facts, speeches, laptop, paper, and anything else an  over-prepared person might bring. In the car ride to school, I was repeating my speeches to my dad and asking myself  “What was I doing? This is totally out of my comfort zone.” When I was dropped off, I walked into the MPR confidently as a lion in my dress shoes, black pants, sweater, and with my American Tie; ready to debate. The opening ceremony began and the club officers introduced themselves and told us the cliche on thanking us for being there and that you will have a fun experience. After the opening ceremony, they then split us up into our committee groups and rooms.

My group had around ten people and we had three chairmen, one being one of my good friends today. We all received our name cards for our countries and then they started the debate. Our group had no idea what we were doing and messed up a lot on our points and motions as the debate was moving along. Our chairmen were understanding and told us what to do to build our confidence. The speaker’s list for the countries to propose their resolutions opened up to us. I was third and I was trying to keep my cool on the outside but, on the inside, my heart was running at a thousand miles per hour. When it was my turn to go up, my lion confidence turned into a mouse. I was sweating, twitching, stuttering, and shaking my paper. The ten people looked like a thousand. But eventually, I finished my speech and I thought I did horrible, but my fellow delegates actually liked my ideas. They liked that it was an unique and practical solution to fight cyber terrorism. After I spoke, I actually had fun and became the leader of my resolution group. It was a challenging fight but, our resolution passed in the end.

When all of the committees met in the MPR at the end of the conference, I was surprised and proud of my performance. Then, the officers announced the winners for each conference. I didn’t expect to win anything, but I won a podium position as commendation (3rd place). I was so happy and almost cried. I went home a different person that day. Fast forward to now. I am a senior, in the club, MUN, for my second year, and have squashed the bug named fear when it comes to public speaking.

I learned two things from that day. First, try new activities, especially if it’s out of your comfort zone. That conference was totally out of my league and totally unexpected. I never initially wanted to do this for a hobby and I just went for my extra credit. If I never went to EMUN, I never would have known the club existed and discovered this new passion for debating. I wouldn’t have seen past the facts and figures. I get to go to conferences at UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, and many more for fun. I even changed my major to political science from engineering based on my journey with MUN because I get to help change the world and impact humanity for the better. Secondly, you meet amazing people as you explore your passion. I have made great friends, even considered family through this club. I honestly can say that if I didn’t go that Saturday, I wouldn’t have some of the strong friendships like I do today. I have made great memories with these people through all of the conferences we went to and they will be engraved in my mind forever. MUN is truly FUN!