In eighth grade, I was diagnosed with panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. Now, as a senior in high school, I am a sectional qualifier for my event in speech and won 1st at the Sandburg speech tournament for humorous duet acting. If you had told me that four years ago, I would have said you had got the wrong girl. I would have said that the girl I know can't even speak to her classmates or peers without having a panic attack and needing to go home. None of this would have been possible had I not decided to face my greatest fear head-on. In my junior year, I was encouraged by my therapist to join an activity that was out of my comfort zone. Given my irrational fear of new experiences and strangers, "out of my comfort zone" described every school activity. My close friend, Cayla said she needed to recruit someone to try out for the speech team, and in a spur-of-the-moment decision, I agreed. I was terrified, but after dropping out of other extracurriculars, I was determined to give this an honest shot. My first tournament I threw up the morning of, out of sheer nerves. I placed fourth in my duo event and sixth in my individual event. I felt this adrenaline rush when performing and it felt like doing speech was sort of a "screw you" to the debilitating anxiety that had controlled my adolescent life. So, chasing that high, I continued with speech into my senior year. I won medals and awards and even made it through to sectionals. But the greatest accomplishment I ever made with speech was being able to talk in front of people about things I was passionate about, and even receive criticism from it. My biggest fear became my biggest passion and I uncovered a love for performing. I auditioned for the fall play and got a lead role and then in the winter, wrote and directed a short act of my own. This process has been difficult and emotional, but if I hadn't joined the speech team, I would never have met some of my closest friends and realized a passion for speaking. I used to be someone who didn't have a voice, as I was too timid and self-conscious to put myself out there. Going through that has made me realize that I want to be the one to provide that voice for others who feel unheard or unseen. I will be attending Marquette University in the fall and plan to major in political science on a pre-law track. Becoming a lawyer will not only allow me to use my literacy skills and love for politics but also allow me to give back and aid others in finding their voice.