If Speech and Debate has taught me anything it's that you can never please everyone. I mean think about it. If you go back to look at the scores in the final round at Nationals, the champion is likely to have fives and sixes just like any other competitor. No matter what event you’re in it’s true that not everyone who watches you will love what you’re doing as much as you do. I like keeping it real, and knowing this fact allowed me to craft my performances in a way that appea

The first time I found competItive success in speech I had a black book binder in my hand. It was 2007 and I had just qualified to the California State Tournament as a Freshman in Thematic Interpretation. I had no idea exactly how important those little black binders would become. Initially my black book was not so small and I had a program with intro breaks for all three of my selections; including things like Bill Bryson and Walt Whitman. My old school TI program got me to