This story was a group project from our participants in New York, who were challenged to create a fictitious story based on the commonalities of their own experiences from our “Stepping out of your comfort zone” activity.
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Luis is a foreign exchange student from Costa Rica. He came to the states to study medicine. His dream is to help communities all over the world receive health care. Luis is able to read and write English very well, but this was his first time living among native English speakers, he felt his speaking skills struggled. He spoke English with some friends in his hometown but he feels overwhelmed by the fast paced conversation of his new environment. He feels the pressure of rude people when he is out, and sometimes feels like a stranger in a strange land.
Luis wrote a paper a few weeks back for one of his classes on Bone Metastases. His professor was so impressed he asked Luis to speak at an upcoming medical conference being held on campus. Luis was honored and excited, but then, apprehension set in. “What if I stutter words, pronounce terms incorrectly?” he thought. “The embarrassment would be too much. What if I cannot communicate clearly, what if I let down my peers?” were questions that crept into his mind. He was afraid he would be mocked, afraid he would disappoint the audience and his professor, the fear was overwhelming. He thought he would just explain to his professor that someone else in his class was more capable of delivering the speech.
But then Luis entertains some other questions…he considers the fact that he was selected for a reason. He knows he is competent, truly skilled in medicine. He thinks about the importance of speaking. Where could this take his career? His dreams? He sees this as an opportunity to grow, show his knowledge and help others. This was the reason he decided to leave his country to study here, to expand his global mind, and be more accessible to the world. If he lets this chance go by he may never find the courage or have the chance to do it again. Luis chooses to ignore his fear and finds his inner strength to convey his work.
Luis tells his professor that he will speak at the conference.
The day arrives. He steps up to the podium. He is nervous but prepared. Sweating, a little shaky, but bold. He starts to share his story, he invites the audience in. He presents the information he has gathered and displays his research. 30 minutes later the audience applauds. Luis knows now that he can communicate clearly and his effectiveness was not so much reliant on his words, but the message he conveyed.