I AM A BAMBOO

Here's the first Toastmasters speech I delivered last July 1, 2010 at El Presidente Toastmasters Club. The organization being very encouraging, gave me generous feedback. My evaluator, Cristine Bautista, admired the way I constructed my speech and loved my use of metaphor. Diane, another member, added that my intro could pass a contest speech. I really love the way they constructively criticize us for our works. One area of improvement I know I have is to refrain from bringing in notes. I was told that as much as possible, I get a better grasp of the speech so I won't have to depend on my notes, which is something I aim to do in my succeeding speeches.. :)

Here's the speech I wrote and delivered entitled I AM A BAMBOO..

I AM A BAMBOO
By Nina Viray

In my attempt to craft a striking Icebreaker speech that would best describe me as a person, who would have thought that I would find Bruce Lee, a famous Actor and Martial Arts Master, as my inspiration. His beliefs in life reflected mine.

His quote that represents my core was the simplest of them all, it says: “Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo survives by bending with the wind.” Right then and there, I realized, oh yes, I am a BAMBOO—I bend with the wind.

Fellow Toasmasters and guests, good evening.

My life, just like any other, has been full of happy and challenging stories. I was brought up in a humble home in Sto. Tomas, Pasig City, where my mom is a native. My dad is from Pampanga but he decided to live in Pasig practically because of its accessibility to the metro. I’m the 2nd in a brood of three; I have an older brother, by the name of Lord Vennet; and a younger sister, named Jessica Lei.
Let me cite at least two (2) instances in my life where my flexibility just like that of a bamboo was manifested.

I did not come from a well-off or a prominent family, but my parents brought me up with enough riches to bring as I traverse through life. Both my parents worked hard to bring me this far, I was nurtured with enough food in a day and they provided me with the best education I could have. They did everything they could when they were younger and stronger so as to give us the gears we would use as we sustain our lives. I was a receiver and they were the givers.

Twenty-five or so years have passed and the tables were turned. Both my parents are beginning to enjoy their retirement years now. I became the giver and my parents, the receivers. Being the breadwinner of the family can be a huge and daunting task, but the joy I get in knowing that I am reaping the fruits of my parents’ labor is incomparable.

I’m 30 years old and lots of people, specially my relatives who seem to be highly concern with my ability to rear a child because of my age, would often be heard saying “Oh Nina, kelan ka ikakasal?” or maybe “uy, tumatanda ka na, wala ka pa bang boyfriend?”. As a response, I would automatically plaster a smile on my face and say “Wala pa po e, bata pa naman po ako, saka darating na lang po yun”. Geesh.

Honestly, I have always wanted to settle down and marry the man of my dreams at the age of 27 or 28. Becoming a housewife with the role of taking care of my kids and loving my husband full time had been my dream since I was a kid. Since age 20, I am a late bloomer by the way, I have started searching and picking for Mr. Right. But Mr. Right is really elusive. I was 27 y/o when I experienced the most hurtful heartaches of all. The dream in my mind and the pressure I was putting in myself took its toll in my relationship; it resulted to me becoming blessedly single until now.

Naturally, some women who reach my age and remain un-married seemed to be getting more and more depressed with the society’s idea that 30 is the maximum allowable age to marry. It’s either that or you become a pretty old maid. The experiences I have had in falling in and out of love several times before, together with the role as a provider of the family, pushed me to take love slowly and maturely.

The spare time that the society is expecting me to spend with my special someone is now being put into productive use. On top of the strategic function I am assuming in San Miguel Purefoods, I am also now taking up my Masteral Degree in UP Diliman, School of Labor and Industrial Relations; and, recently I decided to enhance my public speaking skills by joining you guys—becoming a member of El Presidente Toastmasters Club.

While we set different goals geared towards achieving a better life, I realized that not everything happens the way we want them to be. God continuously moulds us into someone better than we think.

I may not be as stiff as a sturdy tree or as strong as Bruce Lee, but my ability to sway with the wind without breaking gives me the resiliency and strength to surpass the challenges of life just like that of a bamboo surviving the strongest of winds.