The Spotlight of Nervouseness
By Irene - 6th Grade
When 5th grade was almost over, my teacher announced that there would be a competition for Pi day. Whoever remembered the most Pi digits correctly would win. Pi digits are digits that go on infinitely and mathematicians use them to find the circumference or the area of a circle. I was a competitive person so I decided to remember it day by day with the help of my friend and my parents. It was very hard and confusing because there weren't any patterns and PI digits went on forever. The goal for me was to try to get as much as I could, more than anyone else. After 2 weeks, it was time for the competition. People started to recite the Pi digits and everyone had their paper on their desk to check if it was correct. They were focused on the paper while some people just sat there and watched. When it was my turn, I stood in front of the class and everyone’s eyes were on me. The classroom was filled with silence. I was very nervous since I tend to forget things when I am nervous.
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I slowly recited the Pi digits. 3.1 4 1 5 9 2 6 5 3 5 8 9 7 9 3 2 3 8 4 6 2 6 4 3 3 8 3 2 7 9 5 0 2 8 8 4 1 9 7 1 6 9 3 9 9 3 7 51 0 5 8 2 0 9 7 4 9 4 4 5 9 2 3 0 7 8 1 6 4 0 6 2 6 2… The teacher was recording me and all the spotlight and attention was on me. I was scared so I just squeezed my hands and looked at the desks and the ceiling. The desks were wooden and plastic and were very boring to look at. The ceiling had lights on top and was white. I looked somewhere else so I wouldn't get distracted by the people in front of me. I remembered 170 digits but when it was about my 160th digit I forgot. However, I still got 2nd place and my friend got 1st place. The top three winners got pie for free. I got a strawberry pie with chocolate. When I went home, I ate it all by myself without anyone touching it. I was proud of myself to get this far and it felt good to get 2nd place.
I thought that people were going to judge me because if I messed up or stumbled on a number they were going to look at me weirdly. However, none of that happened and they were very supportive and I also got a good ending by getting 2nd place and winning a pie. I learned that sometimes thinking on the bright side is better because you will never know what will come after you. I was really nervous at the start and I thought my stomach was going to flip but I faced my fear by looking at something else. This technique helped me so in the future, whenever I do presentations or a spotlight is on me, I use this strategy to help me. What was important for me is that I tried and overcame my fear and nervousness. In conclusion, I was nervous and worried but in the end I learned to overcome and be more brave.
Another time when I felt nervous was when a few months ago, at school, I had to present to many different classrooms for ASB. It was an elective and it was about Food Drive. Food Drive was where you donate food that can’t be easily expired to people who need food after school and on the weekends. It was my first time presenting a long presentation to a group of people that I didn’t even know. I had to do it for four classes and I wasn’t ready. The only experience I had before of giving presentations was in my classroom where I was comfortable with the students and got to know them but this time there were people who I didn’t even know and some were older than me. I couldn’t do it myself so I grabbed a partner. When I saw the big blue classroom door, my heart was beating like it was exercising. We both looked at each other. He was a seventh grader with ginger hair color. We were tall and I could tell that he was also nervous. We both smiled. I took a big breath. When I got in, the teacher stared at me. “So this is for the presentation?” a teacher asked. “Yes,” I nervously replied. I fidgeted with my hands as I started to get nervous. All eyes were on me and I had no idea who they were. The room was quiet except for the fact people were fidgeting with their pencils. Suddenly, the room was cold. I thought that people were going to laugh if I messed up or judged me.
When I was about to say the first slide, I tried to do my best to not stutter and not be too quiet. When I finished the first slide, it made me feel better. My partner and I took turns saying each slide. Everyone looked really into the presentation and my heart was relieved. The teacher thanked us and we exited the classroom. It wasn't as bad as I thought. After going to other classrooms I felt better and was glad. I learned that it's okay to be nervous but being positive and braver will help you feel better in nervous situations.
After these experiences, I was overcoming my fear of being in the spotlight. My bravery and perseverance helped me and being with a partner made me feel better. Even though at the first few minutes I was nervous, I still did it and I felt way better when it was finished. I thought everyone would look at me if I didn’t know any information or didn’t know how to pronounce it right, so my partner helped me through. I knew that my partner was nervous too, but doing it with my partner made me more calm. Another technique I learned was to fidget with something like my hands to help relieve stress and I used the same technique as my first story by looking at the board more than the people in front of me watching. In the end, I learned to never be scared even though you are in the spotlight because it is important that you try.