My childhood best friend's mother founded a nonprofit organization. At a fundraising event in high school, once she was finished thanking the sponsors, I walked up to the emcee and asked for the mic. I felt compelled to have the audience recognize and applaud her hard work, which is what got the organization to that point in the first place. It was totally on a whim but it felt so necessary. This instance has replayed over in my mind even more than ten years later and was the first time I felt I could be a speaker.

My first experiences on stage included community talent shows and community theater summer programs. As a child, I never really knew what "nerves" were, and the audience's encouraging reactions fueled me to enjoy these instances even further. As an adult, with stakes higher than a gift certificate, nerves sometimes come into play. I took public speaking as a required course in college and have had to give presentations for job interviews. But once I get comfortable and find a rhythm, it feels completely natural. Now that I'm seeing that this could be a potential career path for me, I think it could be worth looking into speaking opportunities centered around climate change, social justice and environmental justice.