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| KAY |
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This is a picture of, Kay. She lives in Wisconsin. Kay was born in Russia and was adopted at the age of two by James' sister. Kay has overcome some incredible challenges in her life. She was born with a cleft lip and palate and has endured a dozen surgeries. One of her least anticipated activites was public speaking. However, Kay took on the challenge presented in the James Casto song "Courageous." The song says, "Every morning we wake up with two choices. We can choose to be afraid or be courageous." Well, Kay chose courage and entered a public speaking competition.... and WON! You can read part of her speech below. May all of us take the challenge and be as courageous as Kay. And if you have stories of being courageous, send them to this website.
Kay's speech:
My Future is Bright Because….
“Being courageous is walking toward your dream even when you are afraid,” this is a quote from my uncle who has always encouraged me to never give up, to believe in myself, and to be proud of who I am. One of my greatest challenges is to speak clearly due to my cleft palate. I have always been sensitive about speaking to others that do not know me because of my voice. Today I stand before you to share with you why my future is bright. I do it with courage and pride within who I am.
We wake up with two choices to make each and everyday. One choice is to make yourself a better future and the second choice is to not make yourself a better future. If I try my best and give everything my all; it will repay itself in the end. What I always say is, “If you want to pursue it, you have to do it.” But I have a question for you. Have you ever thought about what a future is? Everyone may say that the future is years in later time of life, but have your ever thought maybe the future could be one second away? You may say I am crazy, but hear me out. Most people dream of becoming a doctor, nurse, or other professions in the future, but you have to think about the goals that are more of a reality that isn’t so far away in time. Like doing well on a test next period. It’s not very far away in time, and it’s more of a reality. Well since we are talking about present day future let me talk a little about the reason why my future is bright, and is getting brighter every second. One reason my future is bright is because there is support. That support is my family, friends and other important people in my life. They are there helping me to pick the right path. If I may pick the wrong path, they are there to guide me on the right one. Also they stand by me no matter what I’ve done wrong, and the consequences I may pay.
Second reason my future is bright is because I look to the future as a good thing. In a sense everything that heads my way I get through it, knowing that it came my way to help me make a harder decision later on.
Third reason is there are goals to pursue. I mean if I have at least one or two goals or dreams that I want to attempt. Those dreams stay with me making me determined and willing to pursue them. So as I go through life, I am determined to take the right path, with the right decisions made. My dreams are: going to college, traveling the world with friends, getting married, and maybe even having a child or two. The things that may stand in my way are: if I hang out with the wrong crowd, get involved with drugs, get in trouble with the law or drop out of school but I doubt I will do any of those things, because I am not that kind of person, and I don’t feel the need to do any of those things.
My future is bright because of my past, my past is my foundation, and it is solid rock. My foundation is building up not down. To know why my past is my foundation, let me tell you a little bit about it. It all started the day I was born. I had a premature birth, but I grew. I had many defects: like a cleft, lip, and palate, pneumonia and a blood infection, but I learned to smile. With my many problems I stayed in the hospital for the first six months of my life. After recovering and leaving the hospital, I was moved to an orphanage so my mouth never got fixed, but I taught myself to eat down the side of my mouth so the food would not go into the hole. After two years I was adopted and began a long road of surgeries. I haven’t had too many surgeries, just a dozen. With each surgery I am able to improve my speech and ability to eat. Now I am in the eighth grade and I play a variety of sports, make good grades, play piano and enjoy being a teenager. I also have many friends that I hang out with and we have a good time. This is the reason why my past is my foundation. I know that life will not always be the easiest, but my future is brighter because I have overcome all of my tough struggles.
My last words that I would like to say are, “My foundation is my determination to turn my future into a brighter future.”
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