This is not a hate post. I do not hate Speech and Debate. I think that it's a wonderful program, and I think that it teaches you a lot of things, and more life skills than most of what you are taught during the school day. Certainly more than you would with football, which I have never understood.
But- and there of course must be a "but" part of my statement- it has some flaws, as do most things. And this is a blog, so I'm not going to fluff this anymore than I already have (because I don't have to, haha)- I won't bull-crap you like that. But there are some things that I have problems with, and I'm not sure whether they'll apply to you or not, but without further ado, here they are.
Okay, with this activity, before you join, you need to understand that this absolutely cannot be something that you have a half interest in. You can't have a hobby that requires more or equal to commitment, because this needs to be a main focus in your life. I'm not even exaggerating. Homework? Backburner. Writing a novel? Don't even think about that until you've cut a piece and have it well-read. At this point, here's where most people tell me, "Well, why don't you just quit?" Okay, just stop. If you want to have any hope of doing well in Speech and Debate, you'd better have a fancy getup and, if you're a girl, about ten pounds of makeup. You have to look nice. And that means money. Just for speech. So stop requesting that I quit. I'm in this, and I don't really have a way out of it. I'm stuck. So know this before you join: Speech and Debate requires money, and more time than you usually have. This is a commitment that I like to think of as being married to a traveling spouse. Or being the traveling spouse. I wouldn't suggest being a hopeful writer and also doing this. It doesn't work, and I'm learning that the hard way. I'm not even supposed to be writing this right now.
Also, you have to be a happy person. A very happy, confident, hopeful person, because Speech and Debate is as depressing as heck. I'm in the acting department of it all, where you read poetry and talk about dead puppies and try to get people to cry about it, so of course you're probably thinking that this is obvious, but no. The sad seriousness is everywhere except the one and a half events specifically for funny stuff. You want to debate? Great, have fun talking about how everybody is dying because of guns, and trying to convince people that it's the right thing to do... I don't even know. So I'll admit, I'm not the best person to talk about this. But the topics are the same and very rarely unique. I know. I have classes with some very smart, some very dedicated debaters, and they talk of nothing else, and it's really annoying. I have to wonder how we're not all depressed and paranoid at the end of the day. I don't think that it's right that everyone is fighting for things that could make us happy, and they're too worried about getting other people to worry about sad stuff that does not make people happy. Maybe if we were all happier, then there would be less things to be sad about, if that makes sense. And, disclaimer, I'm not saying that things like rape aren't an issue. They are, and we're trying to do something about it. But not every minute of our lives needs to be spent in misery, okay? It's okay to smile.
Oh, and one more thing about acting events. It has a very bad habit of romanticizing depression, anxiety, and rape. And the sick thing is that if you're a cute little person, then they say that you're perfect for playing that part. I've seen this in writing, too, so I think that this is just a general pet peeve, but I've seen so many times others make these really horrible things look like a good way of getting attention, and/or of living your life. I don't really know how to describe it, but there is a difference between using a person and common problem to make others aware of the issue, and of making it seem like the appealing sort of drama. I frankly find it offensive, because they are often portrayed inaccurately. It's always acted like it's something as simple as a romance that is what causes it or makes it go away. It may be a trigger, but it' not the entire problem. Insecurities and just feelings in general play a huge role, I'm pretty sure. Stop trying to simplify the issue, please. Take it for what it is: a problem that is a part of the person's life, but not the entire person, and much more complex and hard than you make it out to be.
So, essentially, this is my novice conclusion. Ahem, Speech and Debate is really just great, and I mean that. But it is also like permanently tattooing your entire personality with stiffness and professionalism and sad things. You need to be almost to the point where you feed on controversy, discontentment, and stress.
Thank you for reading, and I'm sorry if this was offensive, but I'm pretty sure that a speech person could easily argue this.
But the thing is, I openly acknowledge that this is an opinion.
So don't argue it, my dear speech loving family, because this is how I feel.
Bye!
No comments:
Post a Comment