5.21 A Change of Scene

Is it the fear of standing and speaking, or the thought of writing something so important that makes my stomach flip? I can easily picture the blackness that’s the audience swallowing the space in front of me. Yes, I’ve stood in front of it many times, but this time it’s to be different. This time only my tongue makes movements, my feet are still.

I look back at the pages in front of me. Typed words that have been there for days and little penciled words farther down. So much weight on this speech for our last day of childhood.