54. Discuss how some negative experience (disability, illness, failure) has had a positive influence on your life.
Having studied in English in India for past 10 years, I had lost confidence that I once had in my ability to speak Korean. But one incident invigorated me.
One fine day during my vacation in Korea, I got a phone call. It was my mom. She told me that I have a very important and crucial duty - to speak about India and myself in a Church. The Church was planning on sending a team of supporters to my mom's place of ministry in India. It wanted the team members to have a mind-blowing experience and learn the lives of poor people. The question was will going to India really give them the experience. And the Church assumed I could provide the answer, and hence was this duty laid in front of me.
I was asked to speak for 20 minutes which I thought would be like 20 hours. Of course, I enjoy speaking in public. But I give big importance to experiences. I haven't had any experience of giving a speech in front of Korean people in Korean. I thought I would mess up everything. Nevertheless, I tried the best I could, taking hours to write my speech and practicing repetitively.
On the day of my speech, I had put down all the pressure I had in me. I spoke with a sincere hope that I could convey my thoughts rather than with a stressful concerns if I could provide them the answer. And to my surprise, I did. In fact, for more than 20 minutes, in Korean. There were even few people crying. They said that my speech not only had provided the assurance to visit my mom in India but also was cathartic, awakening them from the chaos and pressure they went through in the society.
I still do not understand how I could do that, agitating their emotions and will to help my mom. But I did realize one thing; hadn't I experienced this, I wouldn't have been able to get back my confidence in Korean.
Having studied in English in India for past 10 years, I had lost confidence that I once had in my ability to speak Korean. But one incident invigorated me.
One fine day during my vacation in Korea, I got a phone call. It was my mom. She told me that I have a very important and crucial duty - to speak about India and myself in a Church. The Church was planning on sending a team of supporters to my mom's place of ministry in India. It wanted the team members to have a mind-blowing experience and learn the lives of poor people. The question was will going to India really give them the experience. And the Church assumed I could provide the answer, and hence was this duty laid in front of me.
I was asked to speak for 20 minutes which I thought would be like 20 hours. Of course, I enjoy speaking in public. But I give big importance to experiences. I haven't had any experience of giving a speech in front of Korean people in Korean. I thought I would mess up everything. Nevertheless, I tried the best I could, taking hours to write my speech and practicing repetitively.
On the day of my speech, I had put down all the pressure I had in me. I spoke with a sincere hope that I could convey my thoughts rather than with a stressful concerns if I could provide them the answer. And to my surprise, I did. In fact, for more than 20 minutes, in Korean. There were even few people crying. They said that my speech not only had provided the assurance to visit my mom in India but also was cathartic, awakening them from the chaos and pressure they went through in the society.
I still do not understand how I could do that, agitating their emotions and will to help my mom. But I did realize one thing; hadn't I experienced this, I wouldn't have been able to get back my confidence in Korean.
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