From my 6th-grade geography bee to current college public speaking classes, standing in front of crowds and presenting has always made my heard pound and sweat roll from my brow. I've always enjoyed writing, yet when attending camps during the summers of my high school years and investigating more of what I want to do for a living, I knew broadcast is where I belong. I want to be the next Erin Andrews or Maria Taylor, but what about my past? What about all those times I was forced to be involved in my school play or deliver a rehearsed speech in front of my peers and skipped school that day to avoid it? I shall overcome.

I decided last spring that I wanted to take a public speaking class, not because I was required, but because I wanted to conquer this anxiety that was holding me back from so many opportunities that are available in my field of business. Communications is just that, talking to people. No matter the media, whether it's in person, over the phone, or through writing, you're going to have to build a solid foundation writing in order to be successful in this line of work. I had already achieved what a lot of my friends always struggled with, writing essays and forming correct grammatical sentences; yet I had not unlocked this strange fear of people staring me down as I stand in front of a room and present.

Behind the camera, my anxiety is eliminated. I'm natural, myself, speaking to an audience like they're a friend and informing them on the information given without worry. I have begun with newspapers, interviewing people face to face and then radio where I can't physically see my audience that I'm listening to. I can't explain it, but when those people are physically staring at me, I shut down. Despite all this struggle and fear that overcomes me, I refuse to let it stop me or fail.

I've learned more than just, "imagine everyone out there in their underwear." It takes time, written work, and standing in front of a mirror or your closest friends to practice. "Public speaking (also called oratory or oration) is the process or act of performing a speech to a live audience. This type of speech is deliberately structured with three general purposes: to inform, to persuade and to entertain." That's what I was good at; informing, entertaining, and persuading people to believe whatever I was talking about.

I continue to work every day on this fear so after I graduate from my University with a bachelors degree in sports news media, then I will show the world that I am so much more than my fears and show my future employers that anxiety and struggles don't define me.