The First Tourney This Season - The Third Year Chronicles #10

(Inspired by for the First Time In Forever, from Disney's Frozen, as well as the upcoming tournament season.)

Registration is open, the schedule's announced

I didn't think they'd tell us this that fast

Who know we'd need 8,000 TP briefs?

For months I've researched for extemp

Why have give an OO with no judge?

There are already people on the waiting list

There'll be actual real debate rounds

Not just practice at club

But wow am I so ready for those breaks

At the first tourney this season

There'll be extemp and duo

At the first tourney this season

I'll be giving my OO

I don't know if I'm just nervous and anxious

Or if I'm actually prepared

But at the first tourney this season

I'll be with my friends

That night imagine me standing up

Waiting for them to call first place

The picture of nerves and excitement

I'm suddenly standing all alone

Everyone else from finals called on stage

I want to freak out, cry, but I keep face

And then I walk and take my trophy

Which is totally amaze

Nothing like the medals from last year

At the first tourney this season

I can read first place ballots

At the first tourney this season

I can take home big trophies

And I know it is totally crazy

To think I'll even place

But at the first tourney this season

At least of I've got a chance

Don't let them in

Don't let them see

Give the platform you always have to give

OO, extemp

Do persuasive

Give one interp and everyone will know

But there's only four weeks left

(There's only four weeks left)

It's agony to prep

(It's agony to prep)

Tell me when there's only one day left

(One day)

At the first tourney this season

I'm getting what I've waited for

A chance to give my brand new speech

A chance to see my friends

And I know it all ends that Sunday

So it has to be that week

Cause at the first tourney this season

The first tourney this season

Nothing's in my way!

For the first time in forever, vote affirmative.

(This post is part of a series called The Third Year Chronicles. Click here for TTYC #9)

If People Asked Questions Like Debaters

If you have ever attended a lecture dedicated to the topic of cross examination, you probably know that, in order to utilize your CX time to its fullest, you should ask close ended questions. While an admittedly excellent strategy in debate rounds, questioning of this nature is not an effective way to communicate in real life. But what if we did ask questions like debaters?

Normal: We're out of cereal.
Debater: Would you agree that, under the status quo, we are in need of Lucky Charms?

Normal:  The dogs used the bathroom in the living room.
Debater: Were you aware that the dogs have failed to relieve themselves, you know, outside?

Normal: You've been playing video games for a long time.
Debater: Isn't it accurate to say that you have been playing video games for seven consecutive hours?

Normal: Go pick up all your stuff from the bathroom floor.
Debater: Would it be fair to say that you really need to clean our bathroom?

Normal: How are you?
Debater: Is it your contention that you are doing well today?

Normal: We should have frisbee next week.
Debater: Would you agree that we need to have frisbee next weekend?

Normal: Do you want to hang out on Saturday?
Debater: Is it fair to say that you are free this Saturday?

Normal: Can I have one of your Starbursts?
Debater: Were you aware that there are currently no pink Starbursts in my possestion?

Normal: Vote affirmative.
Debater: It's for all these reasons I strongly urge an affirmative ballot at the end of today's debate round.

Well, that one's kind of weird anyway. I mean, who goes around asking people to vote affirma--Oh. Yeah...

Vote affirmative, because you ask questions like a weir--I mean DEBATER.

Tournaments Are The Greatest

October: The month in which CHSADKs panic about the impending tournament season and stress out over everything. Right now we are very concerned with finding evidence and writing cases and memorizing/actually writing speeches, We stress out about the news because who knows what whacko question we may get in extemp. We have nightmares about buying the wrong type of flow pen. Our printer has nervous breakdowns because of the excessive brief printing. We have a nervous breakdown because it's 9:30 Wednesday night and you have five pieces of evidence to find before midnight.

But let's slow down a minute. At this time of year, it's super easy to start stressing out about assignments and speech memorizing and case finding. Between everything we have to do to get ready for tournaments, we forget about the amazing things that come along with tournaments. This post is dedicated to that very subject.

1. Something to do on the weekends

Admittedly, I have pretty much no life outside speech and debate (deal with it Hans). Occasionally, we'll do something like frisbee or Main Event, but most times the weekend is spent filing extemp articles and researching some obscure case only one person in the country is running (forage fish, ft-dubz).

2. You see all your people

Despite having no life outside of speech and debate, I have plenty of friends. Unfortunately, not all of them are from my club. Not all of them are from my city. Not all of them are from my state. This means I see these people only at tournaments. This means that I over-react when I do see them and I may get a little... excited.

3. Talking to walls is normal

Under most circumstances, talking to walls is considered socially unacceptable. This changes at tournaments. You'll walk down a hallway and spot an interper making weird facial expressions and consistently shifting body positions, or a platformer reciting their lines with all the passion of a platformer. But they aren't giving their speeches to other competitors or parents. They are reciting their speech at the wall. After observing this occurrence, you proceed to turn towards a nearby corner and begin to give your speech, whatever it may be.

4. Awesome ballot parties commence

Admittedly, not all ballot parties are totally stupendously amazing. Occasionally, there will just be a bunch of debaters hanging around a hotel lobby saying unintelligible things that no one remember come the morning. But then there are the ballot parties that go down in history as ballot parties that changed ballot partying as we know it. (Okay, those don't happen very often.) Most times it's just a lot of fun to hang out with your friends without worrying about being on time to extemp prep.

5. Breaks

When doing postings at club, there are always a few people who try to start the forensic clap after every team name, myself included. We usually (always) get shut down. But during a breaks at a tournament, they can't shut us down. But the forensic clap isn't the only great part about breaks. I love watching people's reactions when they break, and I love hearing my friends names. Even if I can't sleep the night before because of all the nerves.

6. Blog post inspiration

After tournaments, I'm always overflowing with inspiration for blog posts and I have to restrain myself from posting five things in one day.  Thus, there is a post boom during tournament season. You're all welcome.

I could go on, but I'll hold back so you can get back to e-ring.

Vote affirmative, because you know how great tournaments are.

Things Change - The Third Year Chronicles #9

(People do these a lot, right? Letters to themselves, what they wish they'd known two or five or ten years ago. This one is to little novice me, specifically in October of 2012, about a month before the first tournament.)

Dear Hadley,

It's your novice year. The start of your speech and debate career. The start of many friendships. You're starting to overcome your fears. You shake when you stand up to give a speech, and, I'm sorry to say, you still will in the years to come. But that's okay. It's mostly adrenaline anyway.

You're afraid. You don't want to disappoint all the people who keep saying you're going to do well this year. Don't let the pressure get to you. Listen to what your coaches say and you'll do fine. You won't win every round or get first place on every ballot. You may have to wait a year or so for trophies, but that's fine. Trophies seem so big and unattainable right now. Hold on to that. Let 1st place ballots matter. Don't treat them like they're ordinary. Someone ranked you  above seven other competitors. That's not something small.

Right now, a month before your first tournament, you're still wondering why you got yourself into this. The elephant in the room hasn't gotten much smaller than it was at debate camp. You barely know the difference between solvency and significance, and the word 'parametrics' makes you dizzy. The thought of giving an impromptu speech makes you want to curl into a ball and weep. That feeling will go away--mostly.

And, oh, the people. So many people. Right now it seems as though you know everyone's name, yet no one knows yours. That will change. Soon, people will run up to you, calling your name, greeting you with all the enthusiasm of Daniel Martin. Your days of pathetic friendlessness are over. You'll make many friends this year. However, not all of them will stay your friends. That's okay. You'll find new friends--or they may find you. The people you think you'll stay friends with for a long time won't always do as such. People who you think you won't ever be close to may surprise you.

Things won't always be this way. No year is the same as the last. Things change, and they change quite a bit at times. Some things get easier--impromptu speeches, debate research, speaking in front of others. Some things get harder--keeping friendships, staying within time limits on all your speeches, Things get stressful and crazy. Sometimes they may break your heart.

You'll learn how to overcome your fears and your pride and your insecurity, though those things never truly end. You'll learn how to face failures and face successes. But you know something that I seem to forget: it's not about the stress, the trophies, the fifth and belows. You're not focused on those things right now. You've heard stories of success and stories of failure. Losing stories and 1st place trophy stories. The point of all of those stories: the trophies and medals and 1st places don't matter. What is important is the people. The people in the stories. The people in your life. Make time for people--not things.

Things change. Hold on to what you have now. Hold on to moments. Embarrassing ones (there are lots of those), awkward ones, devastating ones, wonderful ones. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, rather, in humility, value others above yourself. (Philippians 2:3. A good verse there, lovey.) Remember that, when everything seems chaotic, that God's love will always remain.

It's my third year. Things here are different than they were two years ago when I didn't know what permutation was (still trying to figure that out, actually). I watch novices like you as they start to grasp what this whole debate thing looks like (though some have a pretty good idea already.) They ask questions I immediately know the answer to--then I realize that I asked the same questions when I was a novice; when I was you.

Parli, extemp, duo, DI, finals, medals, trophies, green checkmarks, humility, laughter. Stress, headaches, e-ring, clean up, emails, insecurity, tears. It's life in speech and debate, and it gets crazy sometimes. But crazy is good, right? So don't be upset that things are changing. There is beauty in change, even in heartbreak. There it beauty and wonder and sometimes pain.

Hold on to right now. Don't cling to it as a comfort zone, but remember it. I was you only two years ago, but things have changed. They'll change even more in the future, I'm sure. But, wow, it hit me hard this year. Don't be afraid, even if things do change.

Yours truly,
~Hadley Grace

(P.S.- Remember to always, always vote affirmative.)

(This post is part of a series called The Third Year Chronicles. Click here for TTYC #8.)