My mouth refused to open. My legs quaked beneath me. My eyes darted around the audience. A sudden stillness enveloped me. Everything seemed peaceful, except for the uneven pounding in my chest, which pulsated in my ears. The pressure was unbearable. Closing my eyes, I inhaled deeply and tried to calm my escalating fear. Still, my lips would not budge. My face felt red-hot even as cold sweat soaked every inch of my body. I couldn't recite a single word of my three-word speech. I felt humiliated. My debut in the sixth-grade class production was a failure.
Growing up, I had endured a myriad o…
