🫙🫙🫙 3 bottles of Kikkoman soy sauce. That, along with a bulky Japanese-English dictionary, is what I came home with after a speech contest.🤦‍♂️ "You participated in a speech contest just to get that?" said someone.🗾🈴 1.5 years of high school experience learning Japanese. I was definitely not fluent at all, nor felt qualified in any way to participate in a speech contest. Although participation was optional, I was enticed by a unique opportunity to take my learning outside of the classroom. 👩‍🏫📝 So, I spent numerous hours after school preparing and practicing my speech. Yes, I was scared. I saw the redness in my teacher's eyes as she constantly corrected my pronunciation, ensuring that I spoke as fluently as possible. It was already night time, and we could not leave the classroom until I perfected my speech. There was no backing out, I gave it my all.🏆🏅 I am proud that I came home with three bottles of Kikkoman soy sauce after the contest. I even participated in the speech contest again the next year, winning a gorgeous custom-made crystal plaque. Putting the awards aside, it is the wonderful journey of learning and connecting with people that drives me to take on such ambitious challenges.📧 Email me (trish.le.tech@gmail.com) or direct message me on LinkedIn if you would like to share any opportunities!