Insecurity starts to overcome my internal dialogue. “I shouldn’t be here,” “I don’t belong.” This feeling of being an outsider is reaffirmed by the expressions of genuine surprise that overtakes the faces of my fellow eight graders as they all watch me walk into debate camp. In their mind-as they later articulated- I wasn’t the image of the typical debater. I didn’t take the “right” classes, I didn’t “behave” as a normal debater, and I didn’t “look” like a kid who would be interested in debate. Competing in debate had never crossed my mind. Entering debate camp, I was uncertain on what to expect. My main concern wasn’t learning, but rather it was not embarrassing myself. Initially, my uneasiness made me timid. I didn’t speak out much, and I didn’t dare participate. Throughout the week at the debate camp, my tepidness became a genuine interest in debate. I was fascinated by the wide array of information that debaters could tap into; while engaging in a ping-pong fashion of argumentation. By the end of the week I was hooked, like a fish on de-bait, and I never …show more content…
Before debate, I simply didn’t care about anything outside of the bubble of Plano, Texas. To put it bluntly I was unaware-I was unaware of the repercussions my words had on people and unaware of the issues that didn’t directly affect my person. Debate inherently forces the mind to delve into new perspectives, and engage in discourse with ideas substantiated with evidence. For example, in my junior year there was a topic about whether the United States ought to pay reparations to African Americans. Those months of researching and debating the structural discrimination minorities live with, opened my eyes to the life of the structurally oppressed. Moreover, by discussing these issues my mind has become open all types of perspectives. I have learned that discussion is the first step to