I believe in the power of a voice. I know the power of a voice because I almost didn’t have one.
When kids are in the infant stages of life, parents wait for the moment when their precious child would utter their first words. Sometimes parents regret that day. That day did not come for me until I was about five years old. See, while kids were uttering simple sentences, I spoke with a language that was all my own. The only problem was no one could understand me. It was basically gibberish. I remember adults looking at me with a quizzical look every time I would talk. Besides my mother, no one could understand me. Because of the frustration of not being heard, I spent many of my nights crying, feeling lonely.
Then, with the help of my mother and the elementary school, I started speech therapy when I was three. I went through this ritual once a week for the next four years. At first, my progress was slow. I was basically starting on square one. It was so slow that my preschool teacher even considered holding me back, but my mother was not about to give up on me. She did not want me to be separated from my peers. So she let me graduate preschool onto the elementary school.
After a while, the work was starting to show. I remember saying my first word clearly. I was in car with my mom, sister, aunt, and cousin and we were going garage sale hopping. My mom asked me to say the word broccoli out loud. So in my squeaky little five-year-old voice, I said the word broccoli as clear as day. Everyone rejoiced in my accomplishment. I was so happy. I actually said a word and everyone understood it.
I graduated from speech therapy in second grade. From that time, I have used my voice to full advantage. I have recited lines as a star in a high school play, been able to give my opinion on things, and even sing in different choirs and actually winning awards for my voice.
When reading the directions on how to write this essay, it talked about how these essays had to be written with an authentic voice. That struck me because I almost did not have a voice. Without the help of my mom and my speech pathologist, I would not be able to speak. I would not be the person that I am today.