Building Confidence Through Volunteering

Overcoming the Fear of Speaking Up

A Fear That Held Me Back

I’ve always had this fear of speaking up, especially in front of a live audience. This fear didn’t just make me struggle with public speaking, but I also struggled with putting myself out there and building relationships with my peers, saying yes or no to my friends, or just defending myself in situations like an argument. I was consistently worried I would end up embarrassing myself and it always held me back. I had trouble doing presentations at school which would poorly affect my grades. I had trouble communicating my needs and being a good conversationalist in general.

A New Beginning in a New Place

In the middle of my 6th grade year I moved to Washington. I went to a new school and made a few friends who approached me but we never really connected because two months into the move, COVID 19 came and everyone was thrown into online school. That lasted for about 2 years and I hadn’t talked to anyone except my family since we just moved. So when I came back to school in 8th grade, where everyone had already known each other for years, I had a hard time fitting in. However I realized I wasn’t the only one struggling. We all didn’t have much social experience because of quarantine. I ended up making some new friends but I still had this fear of mine holding me back.

Finding a Place to Grow

8th grade flew by and then high school came. I started to look for ways to gain volunteer hours and that’s when I heard about Kids Coming Together. I learned that it was an organization that provided a safe environment for kids to meet and do community service while also communicating and growing social skills with their peers. I felt like their message really connected with me because I wanted something like that for myself when I was younger to help guide me. I decided to sign up as a high school leader for their upcoming event.

From Nervous Newbie to Youth Leader

Going to their first event was nerve wracking. It was something new and I was scared even though I was the high school leader. When the event actually started it wasn’t that hard to talk with everyone because the atmosphere felt comfortable. I had way more fun than I had anticipated and I returned to many more of KCT’s events, eager to experience that environment again. Eventually, I had become more familiar with the organization and I decided that I wanted to be integrated into their goal and decided to apply for a position on their Youth Board.

Stepping Into Confidence

I soon became their Administration Intern and I even led an event by myself! It was really surprising to see how much I had grown from the scared volunteer to someone who actually led the event. Yeah I wasn’t perfect by any means (I stuttered and probably repeated something twice), but I still got up there, spoke in front of a group of people, and I felt good at the end! I still have a while to go (I am not completely fearless yet!) but I know I have improved and I was feeling more confident in myself through joining Kids Coming Together.