Every contest is a precious experience and the FLTRP Cup National English Debating Competition (South of China) held in Guangzhou May 6-9, 2016 was no exception. Although I didn’t bring home a finalist award, I come home with abundant lessons, a priceless experience, and an appreciation for the entire process. I learned so many things that I could not have learned from a textbook. Thanks to Ningde Normal University for giving me this wonderful opportunity and in this paper I want to share.
Firstly, the fact that the outside world is teeming with elites is not less scary than the reality that you are obscure and unconfident among these people. There’s always someone better than the best and someone worse than the worst. Before this competition, I knew that I was not going to be the best, but I didn’t expect for the worst. So the first lesson I have learned is to “stay hungry, stay foolish.”
Secondly, background is important, but we shouldn’t be limited by it. It’s true that students in famous colleges are more outstanding in some ways, but an impressive diploma is not the decisive factor to success, for dreams never discriminate. Wherever we are, we should keep our goals in mind and keep working hard to achieve them. Our vision decides how impressive we are. As the old saying goes, “You can see further when you stand higher.”
Thirdly, we have to be mentally strong, which means that we have to learn how to deal with situations with calmness. I am always speechless when I am nervous. In the grand final competition, those debaters, facing powerful opponents, had to debate in front of lots of people. But I didn’t see any nervousness from them. They were both calm and confident. From these living examples, I learn that we should defeat the fear inside us before defeating our opponents.
Finally, being a freshman, I learned a lot of debating skills and I found the essence of debate was far more profound than I could imagine. Learning how to debate is also a good way to train ourselves in handling things. First, what is the true meaning of the motion? Then, why are we in support? Why does the opposition party object? Is there any evidence to support our argument? In the end, how can we convince others? By keeping these steps in mind, we can work more efficiently.
Generally, I know that there is still a long way ahead of us, and the difficulty is beyond our imagination. Chasing our dream is filled with joy and depression and that is what we call life. Let’s be strong enough to realize our dream!
Revised by Mike and Zheng Guanwen