last year, i took a speech training class in my spare time. before graduation, our teacher gave us an assignment of making a speech in public places. what a surprising test! it made me feel nervous and excited.
i and the other three decided to make a speech in the subway. it would be a perfect place to test our courage. however, when we stepped into the train, we became more and more nervous. although the passengers in the carriage were not so many, we still felt shy to begin our speech.
“can i act well? will they think i am crazy? will they laugh at me?” with all these questions, i forced myself to step out and stood in the middle of the carriage. my heart was pounding quickly, and my teeth were chattering. after taking a deep breath, i tried to make a self-introduction first. i found my pronunciation was not clear because of tension. no one paid attention to me except one, a foreigner! he was about 50 years old, wearing a blue suit and holding a briefcase. maybe he is a businessman. he stood in front of me. while noticing i was looking at him, he gave me a smile, with kindness, support, and encouragement. i felt quite warm in my heart and relaxed myself. i didn’t think he could understand my chinese speech, but his smile and attention gave me strength at that moment. i calmed myself down and continued. gradually, i found back the fun of speech. my voice was louder and louder because of confidence. more and more people began to look in my direction. the gentleman listened to me attentively throughout my speech. when i finished my speech, he clapped his hands to me. then, the passengers in the carriage applaud, too. i couldn’t help crying and dropping my tears. the train came to a stop at one station. the gentleman walked to me, gave me a big hug, as my father, and said, “you are great! come on!” after saying this, he got out of the train, before i could say thank-you to him.
in my opinion, love can be the support from a stranger, like the last leaf drawn by old behrman, like the smile given by the foreign gentleman. terri once said, “love is in front and all around us.” that is, love has no boundaries as long as you would like to give with sincerity.
