The morning of a new event. An event that had you doing the one thing you aren’t the best at and because of that, you’re out of your comfort zone. 

It’s my first year with the STEAM Ahead program, and I am one of the six students to lead a station. 

The plan was to be assigned to a station and train the people within that station to make sure they were ready for the actual event day. I was assigned “It’s Electric” which is all about energy. 

The first part of the morning went by easily. We got all the bins with the materials to each station. Then we welcomed the volunteers and told them about the program and what it consisted of. 

Next, we went to our assigned stations and introduced ourselves to the people we trained. I do good in small groups, especially with bubbly people, who can crack a joke or just keep talking for hours. I feel more in my element as opposed to speaking in front of a big group of people. 

After we were all able to get to know each other, my station joined another station, doubling the number of kids, for the training part. This is where I freaked out, I had to talk about a station that I didn’t know anything about. At least that’s what I thought. The good part was I didn’t have to talk first. 

I pride myself on being a great listener. I could listen to anyone all day long. I am able to do what I am told and I do well at that. Now talking is something I need to work on. 

Around an hour passed, and it was my turn to talk about my station. My number one fear was that I would start talking and no one will understand what I was trying to say. My hands started to get sweaty and I started to shake. 

I ran through the first part of the station, stuttering through many words in the process. It was the first time I had to lead people through something that could affect the days of the event to come. 

When showing them the flow of energy, I ran into my first problem. The white energy ball that showed that energy can travel through people wasn’t working. 

I was lucky to have amazing people who just laughed it off and we pretended it worked. It was nice to know that they didn’t make the scene awkward or even embarrassing for me. 

I learned it’s ok to not be the best talker or the smoothest one. I’ve never been the best at it, but at least I tried and got out of my comfort zone. The more I do that, the better I will get and soon it will be like second nature to be. 

Having clammy hands, or stuttering all your words is part of the process. It takes time, for you won’t be good at something right away. Every day, I do something to increase my communication skills in hopes of one day being one step closer to my goal.