We are fine with that and oh, so very proud. Last night was the second round of the speech competition. If he had won, it would have been another competition in Reno in May. He was somewhat apprehensive about actually winning the whole shebang. As we settled in to listen to the other speakers, I strongly felt that he had a very good chance of winning. I tell ya, you cannot teach the gift of actually touching the hearts of people in a speech. You either have it or you don't. He has that gift. (Many people came up to us afterward to tell us how much they enjoyed hearing him talk and how his story personally affected them. More than a few told Guitar Teen to make sure he competes next year and to also apply for their scholarship program.)
The young man who came in first place is a senior in high school. He has been part of his speech and debate team since his freshman year. He also just got accepted into UC Berkeley. This young man has been on a positive trajectory his whole school career. Guitar Teen has only recently discovered that perhaps in order to reach his goals, he might just need a high school diploma. I would say that it is quite an accomplishment to even be in the same competition to this young man knowing the history of my own son.
We are proud of him. He has recently hit a bump in the road. Sometimes the old habits start to emerge and we need to gently remind him of how far he has come. It is my hope that by coming by placing so well in this competition that it really has been worth all that he has had to give up. Only eight more weeks until he has completed his junior year. When he has completed this year, we can all breathe a sigh of relief.
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