News & Events

  Farewell Piece from Todd Ho, President 2013/14

By: Todd Ho

It was a rainy day lacking of sunlight shining from the sky. The dark cloud had accurately depicted my stressed-up mind. The thunderstorm had timely spoken out my nervousness of being the newly-elected President of the Toastmasters Club of Singapore. It was the 1st of July 2013. I stood at the back corridor of a cafe, practicing my very first opening address repeatedly. Nothing could stop me from this mindless regurgitation. I was nervous. I did not care about the people looking at me. I did not care if I looked like a stranger talking to myself on the street. I put all my focus on getting myself ready. Finally, the time came. I gripped my hands tightly, walking up to the stage with a heavily loaded stomach, and presented my day-to-day well drafted strategy plan.

“I want to grow a team, a group of fighters to fight for the best for the club. I want to be in the team. I want to make everyone remember, that term 2013/14 Exco is the best in the club’s history, the best year for the Toastmasters Club of Singapore.” This was where everything, where the legend-in-the-making, got started.

Chua Chin Keong (VP Education 1) worked closely together with Rainer Huang (VP Education 2) and his successor Danny Ho (VP Education 1). With their hard work late into the night, calling our members to confirm their speaking slots, and persuading members to assume various appointments, we enjoyed some of the best toastmasters meetings and workshops throughout the year.

Sonice Chau (VP Membership 1) always encourages me, “Don’t worry, we know you are young. But we will support you no matter what is going to happen.” With her commitment and her social skills, she takes on different challenges every week, making our members and guests feel at ease at our chapter meetings, together with Tan Yi Han (VP Membership 2).

Sometimes, I wonder why we could have more than 20 guests on average per meeting. But when I look at the hard work and the improvements that Agostino De Angelis (VP Public Relations 1), Nancy Cheng (VP Public Relations 2) and Ho Wee Peng (Creative Media Advisor) have done for our webpage, Facebook page and Flickr, when I look at the many photos and advertisements and designs that they have created, realize that 20 guests per meeting is in fact a manifestation of their wonderful work.

It was a tough time when the Secretary (Dhanesh) left the team -- we were one man down. Fortunately for us, Teh Suk Yen arrived on the scene and saved the day. Assuming the role of Secretary, we went from running executive meetings without recording minutes to running the club with all proper documentations.

Kudos to Boredin Saengtuksin (Newsletter Editor), despite the temporary vacuum left behind before Suk Yen appeared, and the resignation of other newsletter editors, despite his heavy personal and work commitments, he still found the time to deliver well written and eye-catching bimonthly newsletters.

To monitor financial transactions and keep track the club’s finances, Huang Yaping (Treasurer) was an excellent asset keeper who helped the club to maintain a healthy financial status. With the help of Danny Ho (Internal Auditor 1) and especially Kelly Xue (Internal Auditor 2), the account for FY2014 was closed with a record high surplus.

Thanks to Haresh Paramesvaran (Sergeant at Arms) and his tireless efforts, we managed to bargain with Sheraton Hotel for a feasible package and arrange a consistently conducive environment for our meetings. He took up the challenges to be a negotiator for the club and helped us to secure a good contract which ultimately allowed us to remain at Sheraton at a reasonable cost. He also worked with Vicky Soo (Social Director 1) closely to organize our wonderful social outings. We had such great fun at these gatherings!

Finally, as the President of the Toastmasters Club of Singapore 2013/14, I gratefully thank my team members for their commitment and huge effort put into this club, this team, this legend. I do not think I will be able to find another team which can work together so closely, which can accommodate my relative inexperience and yet still support me as the leader of the club. I will never forget the moments spent working with this great team, the times we spent facing the challenges together, and of course, the joys we shared when success greeted us at the end of the way.

Today is a rainy day again, with scarce sunlight passing through the dark clouds, I felt nervous again, walking up to the stage to deliver my farewell speech. But this time I will not hold my hands tight. This time, I am glad to have you, my team, to walk together with me.

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Tribute to President Todd

By: Anonymous member of the Exco (hint: someone handsome and popular)

Todd Ho was born on 8 September 1988 in Tseung Kwan O, located on the eastern side of Hongkong.

 

He was educated in Hong Kong till university (The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology HKUST), but due to some circumstances, he relocated to Singapore in his early twenties. While he was searching for a job, he stayed in his relative’s house. Although academically qualified, he found it challenging to communicate as his primary mother tongue is Cantonese. His shy and quiet persona makes it even harder for him to bring his messages across. During this period, he met a friend who introduced him to Toastmasters, and she brought him to TMCS. Todd instantly got attracted to this friendly place that helps everyone improve their communication and leadership skills holistically.

Though he signed up as a member, he felt incredibly awkward to talk in English, let alone deliver a speech. But that didn’t deter him – he participated in many table topics and jumped at any chance to help out in various appointment roles. One of the club mentors saw the potential in this quiet young man and encouraged him to take on an executive appointment as well as to become his mentor and friend. Within a year, he accomplished the Competent Communicator level.

In 2011, he took up the role of Vice President Educations, assisting the then-president Low Kim Heng. Along with the Exco team, this dynamic duo managed to clinch many awards for the club. By then, Todd had outgrown his introvert self and would no longer hesitate to go up to do a table topic. His eloquence had improved by leaps and bounds.

Because an Exco appointment is essentially a volunteer job, he had to undergo much hardship as he was furthering his studies and juggling his work at the same time. He was a very zealous young man who never missed a meeting. Help was scarce as most members are working adults but Todd, being Todd, always tried to arrive early to set up the meeting venue, stay back late to pack up, plan meetings early and help other members wherever he could. Yet, he never murmured a complaint.

In 2013, at the tender age of 25, the club unanimously voted for him to be the youngest ever president, for the term 2013-2014. Even when he was president, he was humble and approachable, winning the hearts of many members. As president, he always consulted the Exco and mentors before implementing anything because he believes that “TMCS is everyone’s club, not MY club”. What humility! Just in case you are wondering, his favourite phrase is “What do you think?”

In the role of club president, he tirelessly helped out in the area and district competitions, building personal rapport with many members from other TM clubs. During his tenure, TMCS achieved the highest recognition from Toastmasters International.

Todd, thank you for the untiring sacrifices that you made for this club, and for making the time we spent in this Exco very memorable. You have our deepest appreciation, and our greatest blessings in whatever you do in life. All the best, and good hunting!

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The Girl That Looked Forlorn

By: Vicky Soo

Through the tunnel she stared

Never passing through, she never dared

She never knew the world on the other side

No matter how much her big eyes could open wide

She worried about the trains

And later of other things that kept her in rein

Just as her slippered feet remained rooted to the ground

By ancient believes she is bound

They brought back tales and bounty from the other side

But she always stopped, never crossing, she would abide 

Would her life be different if she crossed

Would her fears and constraints be lost

She will never know because the chance has gone

For that girl who looked so forlorn

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“Am I a born Public Speaker?”

By: Oh Hock-Chong, Club Mentor

 

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Behind the Next Door: a Personal Note from a New Member who Won First Runner-Up at the International Speech Contest, Distrct 80 Annual Convention 2014

By: Theo Davies
Theo Davies won 2^nd place at the International Speech Contest recently held in Bangkok. Here is what he has to share about his great achievement:

“My speech topic was ‘Behind the Next Door’ and it was a speech about persistence and how often people don’t realize that a life changing opportunity may lie ahead if you just keep plugging away despite the pain and frustration that surround you.

It felt pretty amazing to win this considering I joined the Toastmasters less than two years ago! It shows you just how much you can grow and improve with the help and guidance of other Toastmasters and the amazing platform that our club has. I remember moments such as forgetting my speech on stage and am really happy with the amount of growth since then and I am very thankful to each and every person who has helped along the way!”

Avi’s article

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YY Lee, Aung Pye Tun – Joint Workshop

YY Lee’s Workshop:

Title: Writing with the Light and Sound ©

Objectives:

– To stimulate the brain with light and sound for writing

– Poets have been using these techniques for ages

– Experience this in this Workshop

Y Y Lee started his career as an Industrial Engineer with various industries. With his experience as a Toastmaster, he decided to have a career shift to marketing. He worked as a marketeer for a sporting goods organization where he covered the Asia Pacific region. During his travels, he visited many clubs and gained a wealth of speaking experience.

Later, he was involved in Productivity, Quality management and Six sigma as a corporate trainer. He was a conference speaker in productivity in Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Australia. During this time, his Toastmaster’s skills came to his rescue.

His next turning point came after reading the book “The Absorbent Mind” by Dr Maria Montessori. He became a child educator. Currently, he is an English coach for children as well as adults. Recently he challenged himself and wrote a book “English Medical terminology for Nurses”. The purpose is to shorten the learning time.

Hobbies: Photography, listening to songs and music that can raise his level of consciousness.

Mottos or philosophy: To GIVE is to LIVE. Longevity is Opportunity

 

Aung Pye Tun’s Workshop:

(1) Power of stories

Stories have power like no other. You will be introduced to the 5 essential powers of stories.

(2) 6Cs of a good story

Some say the ability to craft a beautiful story is an art, and only the chosen few have that ability. You will see that it is not entirely true. There is some science to it and you will be introduced to the 6Cs of a good story.

(3) Making a good story GREAT…

Knowing how to craft a good story is good but making it great involves a few other secret ingredients. I hope you are ready to receive them because “The mind, once stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions.”

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Chin Keong’s Farewell article:

Below is the script of my Project 10 speech “The once impossible dream” for those who have missed it or simply want a copy. It depicts a tale of my life from childhood to my present self with the main message being, “it’s possible if you’re willing to try.”

If you were to dissect this speech, you will realize that many techniques were applied. Of these, I would like to highlight two which you may consider incorporating into your own speech: ‘past-present-what happened?’ and ‘using singular terms to address the audience’.

Past-present-what happened?

This technique requires you to talk about the past (bad) and then the present (good) to set a contrast. This will make the audience very curious, making them think “What happened to him?” or “what was the turning point?” This sets the tone for your main story in which you tell your audience what it was that transformed you.

Additionally, you can use the stage as a timeline as you talk about different phases of your life or story. You can start out from the left of the stage as you talk about the past, slowly move to the right when you talk about the present, and finally come to rest at the center for your main story.

Using Singular terms to address the audience

If you read on, you will notice that I’ve have used the singular term “you” instead of “you all” in most of my speech. Some examples include “now I want you to join me”, “now let me ask you another question”, “if you are willing to take a chance”, “you can make it” etc. Using singular terms helps you to connect with your audience at a deeper level as it makes the audience feel that you are directly talking to them instead of addressing the whole audience. In other words, speak to one but look to all (credit to Craig Valentine).

I hope you’ll enjoy reading my speech as much as I enjoyed preparing it, and that it will aid you in your future craft.

P10 – The once impossible dream

Let me ask you a question, how many of you want to be successful? Now, keep your hands up, how many of you believe that you can be successful? Thank you.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen.

Let me tell you a story about a boy. He was born with a certain eye disease and because of that, throughout childhood he had to wear a pair of thick magnifying glasses. The glasses would magnify his eyes so massively on his face that in no time, he became a constant victim of bullies. Big eyes, four eyes, goldfish eyes became a common nickname.

Years passed and after much constant ridicule, criticism and people telling him “You’re not good enough. You’re not good enough. You’re not good enough!”, at some point he started to truly believe he wasn’t good enough. He started to do things he later regretted and soon, his self-confidence reached rock bottom.

That boy with the big eyes, ladies and gentlemen, is me.

Today, I still have some of my eye problems if you notice, but everything inside of me has changed. I started to love myself for who I am, I started to believe that I can do it and I realized that inside of me, I too have something special. Now, I want you to join me, look at your partner and say, “you have something special in you, it’s possible.”

Now, let me ask you another question, “what is the number one thing we fear in this world?”

…..

All your answers are valid, but I have something else in mind. You see, recently I asked a friend for some love advice.

I said, “Jay, what should I do, what if I get rejected? Should I stop?”

“Come on Chin Keong, relax. What can ever happen to you if you fail?”

“Many things.”

“Let me tell you something, if I were you, I would rather fail, than to later regret not trying at all.”

“Wow! Jay, you’re right!”

That day I became inspired, and my friend was right! I got rejected.

But I was glad because next year, five, ten years later I will not be saying “what if” or “if only I have done that.” Regrets, ladies and gentlemen, are and should be our greatest fear. Lucille Ball said:

“I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than regret the things I haven’t done.” So do what you want to do, do what you need to do and do what you are meant to do! So that you can live life full and die empty.

Now you may be wondering, what happened to me from there to here? One of the things that happened to me happened 2 years ago, at the age of 18. It was a transitional phase as I would be attending a new school and I wanted something profound to change in my life.  Then I came across the Toastmasters and 6 months later, in this very red polo-T and jeans, I came for my first chapter meeting.

As a shy young teenager, this environment to me was overwhelming and like most human beings, I started to judge and compare myself with others. I said to myself:

“Why are you here? You are just a teenager. What do you wish to achieve? You don’t have any network. You don’t have any experience. Even when you stand up here, will they even want to listen to you!? Come on. “

When I entered the room, I was sitting at the third row at the corner. The more I listened, strangely the more I became demotivated. Just when I was about to leave, I heard a speech in which the speaker shared a story on how bad he was at debating and how his coach brought him to see a debating competition. After the competition, that boy walked out feeling drained, demotivated and his coach said this to him, which was the message that had such profound impact on me that until today, after 2 years have passed, I can still remember it exactly word for word without even writing it down.

The coach said, “I didn’t bring you here to let you see how good they are, I brought you here to let you see how good you can become.” Wow!

Let me take this opportunity to honor that very speaker who had inspired me, that man who is here with us this evening, that man is none other than our area governor, immediate past-president Low Kim Heng.

Now, standing here in toastmasters, delivering my 10th speech, I wouldn’t have imagined it two years ago. I have never a single moment of regret. It’s possible, I’d always say to myself. I am proud to say I am still learning and I know where I am going. Let me give you a quote:

“To start, you don’t have to be good.

But to be good, you have to start.”

Now, relate that to the first two questions that I’ve asked you, “How many of you want to be successful? How many of you believe that you can be successful?”

Right now I don’t know what dreams you’re having or what obstacles you’re facing, but there is something I do know, that changing our life is hard, is difficult, is not easy, but ladies and gentlemen, it is not impossible! If you are willing to take a chance and let your failures and setbacks be lessons to your success, I’m here to tell you that you can make it. It’s possible.

Maybe you’ve already forgotten, but right here, you have something special. Believe in yourself, dare to be different and live life with no regrets. Bless you.

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Artem’s article:

Only Facts and No Fictions About Artem

Each of us plays various roles in life. Roles of a father or mother, husband or wife, general or soldier, leader or follower, to name a few. In fact, sometimes we’re so absorbed by the stage acts that we perform that we just forget what our role is and everything gets mixed up in our minds and we have to spend time figuring out what is going on. That’s why I think it’s really important to keep a clear picture of the show you take part in and keep on reminding yourself which role you’re playing. In this self-introduction I’ll cover three (out of many) roles that I play – a teacher, an actor and a writer.

Teacher. I believe teaching is one the most interesting and impactful professions in the world. This is especially true when you’re teaching kids or young people. It gives you a chance to influence the future by developing people today. Ideas are the most powerful tool in the universe and when you’re a teacher you work with ideas, planting their seeds in students’ minds. I started my teaching career back in 2002 after completing my post-graduate studies in philosophy. That was in my hometown – Magnitogorsk, in my alma mater – Magnitogorsk State University. Funny enough, when I was doing my bachelor’s degree in the very same university, I had a difficult time with the exam in philosophy (probably because I was not a very well-disciplined student) and it took me four attempts to pass it. Eight years later, I became a colleague with the very same professor who failed me three times in my exams. Life is full of irony sometimes. I’ve spent a few years teaching in university and then I moved on into the training field in the corporate world. Now I’m with Apple, still teaching, still planting ideas…

Actor. I have liked acting since my school years. I’ve always volunteered to participate in school stage plays. I think acting is kind of an adrenaline drug. The culmination of my acting career was probably a small theatre troupe that I organized together with my friend – ‘Ivan Pushkin Company’. The troupe existed for 5 years and we created short avant-garde performances, which became very popular in our small town. Very few people could make any sense of them, but they had very cool titles, such as ‘The Dark-side’, ‘Real Facts Of A Businessman Life’, ‘The Magician’ etc. So we became frequent ‘guest starts’ at various shows and festivals.

Writer. I heard that writers (at least the popular ones) lead awesome lives. All you need to do is to create a bestseller and travel the world presenting your book and having autograph sessions with your fans. Most likely, things are not that easy, and I’m not a real writer, though I still consider myself to be a writer at heart because I love listening to and creating stories. One of the stories that I’ve created was called ‘Tribe’. I wrote it for the radio show that I hosted on a radio station in Russia. It was a weekly show, a story of a man who found himself in a strange and unknown world, and who searched for the way back home to his tribe. The show ran for a year, and I had long-term plans for it, but then my son was born and priorities changed.

Now I’m in Toastmasters Club of Singapore. Why am I here? The answer is simple. I see it as a platform to develop myself in all the three roles that I’ve mentioned above. I’ll be able to share my ideas with a very generous and smart audience and hopefully teach them something new. I’ll need to write engaging speeches and practice my writing, as well as story-telling skills. Last but not least, there’s an important element of acting in public speaking, so I’ll have a chance to showcase my acting skills when delivering my speeches at the chapter meetings as well. Toastmasters Club of Singapore, here I come!

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Nino’s article:

Public Dancing – (Un)happy Singaporeans’ fear of dancing bigger than death and public speaking?

Is the fear of public speaking a hoax? How a music video was reproduced and published over 700 times without violating intellectual property laws, and why Singaporeans may not be the least emotional people in the world.

If you happened to be in Chinatown on 24 January around lunch time, you may have noticed something awkward. Amidst the usual tourists and local vendors, you would have noticed a few people happily dancing in front of a camera. Those dancers were not professional dancers, but instead pedestrians who had just been asked a few moments earlier whether they felt like dancing.

Only a few weeks earlier, US artist and musician Pharrell Williams published a song titled ‘Happy’ online (www.24hoursofhappy.com). It is the longest music video in history with exactly 24 hours of musical content. Within days the song went viral. But the 40-million views the video garnered within the first few days was not the only amazing thing about the video. Instead, how it spread across the internet and throughout the world was innovative, new, and provocative.

Williams’ song inspired people. It inspired people to take part – without explicitly asking for action.  Intrigued by the happy nature and the concept of the video, people started filming their local versions of people dancing to the song. Uploading them onto Youtube for no other reason than spreading happiness, there are now more than 700 such reproduced videos. For the first time, a music video became a mass phenomenon.

So on 24 January, I invited a few friends to help me film a Singaporean version. I was motivated to show that there was genuine happiness in Singapore, which according to Gallup was one of the unhappiest places in Asia and even the least emotional country in the world.

Equipped with a camera and an amplifier, we went through the streets of Singapore asking random strangers if they wanted to happily dance in front of the camera. Being a Toastmaster myself, I know how afraid people are of public speaking – not to mention public dancing. To our surprise, over 90% of the people immediately agreed to take part in this project. Even more so, they danced flamboyantly, imaginatively, and passionately. Across all ages, genders, and ethnicities, people danced in public – seemingly fearless.

Uploaded on the United Nations World Happiness day on 20 March, ‘Happy – We are Singapore’ instantly got over 10,000 views. From there, it went on to continuously re-play at the world’s largest HD screen at Suntec Singapore for a week, received credit form Pharrell Williams himself, and was even broadcasted in 24 Asian countries by Channel News Asia.

You can watch the video here: www.learn-love-laugh.com/happy

Seeing people happily dance in public made me think about the often-cited fear of public speaking. Is it true that people fear public speaking as much as we often think? Why are people easily agreeable to dance in public, when they are so afraid to speak publicly? While my observations are subjective, I believe that we do not do ourselves a favour by constantly citing the dreaded fear or death analogy. While it makes us Toastmasters look like brave heroes, it may intimidate others even more.

Putting public speaking on a level with death creates anxieties for the non-users. Instead, maybe we should consider reframing our industry to convert more non-users into users. If we had chosen to approach people with the question “Did you know that most people are more afraid of dancing in public than they are of death? Would you want to dance for us?”, how many would have agreed?

Instead, we should emphasize the positive. Public speaking has had more impact than on societies than Gutenberg’s printing press. While a picture may say more than 1,000 (written) words, a public speech can inspire more than anything Gutenberg’s printing press has ever published – even in the internet era.

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Danny’s article:

MY 50 CENTS

When I was 10 years old, my parents took me to a grand party. My uncle had invited everyone to his home to show off his new Apple computer. When all the adults were enjoying the food, ten of my cousins and I barged into my Uncle’s room and started playing on the computer. As we were having fun, “BOOOM”, the computer screen went black! All my cousins quickly escaped. I could not run as fast as them, because I was very…. fat.

Contest chair, fellow toastmasters and guests.

Since my childhood, although I ate so little, I was overweight.

When I ran, even a buffalo could beat me.

When I sat in the school bus, I would occupy……. one and a half seats.

When I climbed trees, I would fall; the branch could not carry my weight. In short, I was slow, fat and clumsy.

The worse was, I became an easy target for big bullies. My school mates never asked me my name, they just called me “FAT boy!”. “Hey, fat boy” “Hey, fat boy”.

I tried to smile….. but I was crying inside.

One day, as I sat down for my Primary 5 exam, my pen went missing. I couldn’t find it anywhere.  As I started to panic, I saw my classmate Andy flashing my pen. He was the richest kid in the class.  “Give me 50 cents or you won’t see your pen again.” I ended up giving him MY 50 CENTS. After this incident, he continued bullying me and asking for MY 50 CENTS. When I asked him to give me back MY 50 CENTS, he kept saying, “You areuseless, you areugly, you arefat, you will be poor for the rest of yourlife”.

I wanted to tell my father, but I was afraid Andy would bully me more. I used to sit alone and cry. I wanted my 50 CENTS back. I started to lose my confidence. It started to affect my life. At the age of 15, I practiced for weeks to play in a community football match. During the selection trials, the selector looked at me and said, “You are too fat to be a striker, too dumb to be a defender and too stupid to be a goal keeper. Get real, stop dreaming.” It crushed my heart. I came to believe other people’s opinions about me.

The consequence was disastrous. I used to be among the top students in my primary school. But when I reached my O Levels, I failed… It was proof that I was a failure. I was devastated. I lost the last drop of my confidence…  That was end of my hopes….

Then one day, my class leader, Chee Weei came over to me and said, “Danny, lots of people say that you are useless. That’s not theproblem. The problem is that you believe them. Boy, don’t believe that.”

Chee Weei’s words gave me the courage to pursue the challenges of my career. My friends, ten years later, I graduated from University of South Alabama with a Degree in Engineering. I started to dream big and 10 years later I became my own boss.

Is your past holding you back???

I still remember delivering my first project in TMCS. I was so nervous and I trembled. The speech was bad, the feedback was bad, but my determination was solid. I did not give up. I learnt from my mentors… I went for public speaking coaching. I strived hard. Several speeches later, I won the best speaker ribbon. Now, I am determined to go as far as I can.

When Andy took away my 50 cents, when I was bullied on the football field, when they made me feel useless and worthless, you know what, I believed them. Because of that I suffered and I wasted many years of my life. Not again!

Perhaps, I wouldn’t have learned this important life lesson, if Andy hadn’t taken my 50 cents.

My friends, have you ever suffered because you let other people’s opinions influence your life, your belief, your dreams?

There will be times in your life when others make you feel that you are ugly, useless and worthless at achieving your dreams. If that happens, remember my 50 cents.

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Hitesh’s article

Hitesh Ramchandani – My story

What is cerebral palsy?

Cerebral palsy is not a single condition. It is an umbrella term used to describe a group of conditions that cause movement problems. Although the main problem is with the muscles in one or more parts of the body, the condition is caused by damage or faulty development in a part of the brain. The part of the brain affected is that which sends messages to the muscles. It controls movement and co-ordination. The damage or faulty development usually occurs as a baby is developing in the womb. Sometimes it occurs during, or shortly after, birth.

If someone has cerebral palsy, it means that he is not able to control some of the muscles in his body in the normal way. The extent of the damage influences the severity of the cerebral palsy. Thus, depending on the level of damage suffered, a child may not be able to walk, move, talk, eat, or play in the same ways as other children.

My birth                                                                    

On 20^th January 1992 at 0144 hours, I arrived on the planet called “Earth”. My mother and father were waiting for my arrival excitedly. I was their first child. Unfortunately, they were not aware that their excitement was also going to be their biggest nightmare. The doctor made some mistakes during the delivery and as a result, I was born with cerebral palsy. I was labelled as a disabled. My parents were taken aback, stunned and did not know how to react. The best part was, my mom did not even know what “cerebral palsy” was.

My parents

My parents are strong and positive people. They knew deep down that God had given them such a child for a reason. They always treated me as a normal person. My father and mother had this strong belief that I would recover; never did they give up on me. The two of them always encouraged and motivated me to give my best in whatever I did. Doctors and teachers recommended that they put me in a special school, but they fought against it and made life for me as normal as any other child. They did not let the doctors’ opinions become their belief. They showered me with love. They spent a lot of time and money on my treatment. As a result, I reached such a high level of achievement that whenever I looked down, I could not even measure how many levels and obstacles I have overcome! I love my parents – it is such a blessing to have them.  My mom is the greatest woman – she used to take hours each day just to make me drink a bottle of milk because she had to take extra caution that I did not choke due to my weak lungs.

My childhood

Because of my problem, I had a tough childhood. People always made fun of me, imitated me. Some kids even thought I was an alien. This was because during that time, the problem was severe. I could not even stand straight. I walked like a drunkard. I had to use support, otherwise, I would lose balance. My speech was like an alien’s and people could not comprehend what I was saying. My muscles were extremely tight and tensed, especially muscles on my left, and I could not co-ordinate them. When people discouraged me and made fun of the way I was, I would go home and cry. I still remember when I was 5 – I went to the park and no kid wanted to play with me because they thought I had a virus and if they touched me, they would be infected too! It makes me laugh whenever I recall that now, but at that moment I was so upset that I could not stop crying.  I thought God hated me and He was taking revenge – I was filled with anger and grief.

Despite all the negativities, in my heart I always knew I was the best and I lived with a positive attitude. I knew that if I let the world break me, I would be finished even before beginning the race of life.

The positive things in my childhood were that I made amazing friends like Rahul Prem and Shiv Tulsiani. They are my best buddies till today! They always encouraged me and lifted me up whenever I fell. I am also very lucky to have fantastic cousins like Vicky Vaswani and Karan Ramchandani; they are like my elder brothers, backing me up whenever I need them. The best thing in my childhood was Natasha Ramchandani – the sweet little angel who entered my family when I was four. My mother gave birth to her on 1^st June 1996. The first time I learnt how to walk was when Natasha was two and I was six – she started walking and I was surprised.  If she could walk, why couldn’t I? Thus, I used that as a challenge and finally, I started walking.

Bicycle

My classmates would go cycling at the beach and I would be left out because I could not ride a bicycle. Hence, it became my motivation to learn how to ride a bicycle. An average kid takes about 1-2 weeks to learn how to ride a cycle. It took me 3 months because of my condition – 91 days to be exact.

I used to practise cycling under my condominium everyday after school. Each day, I would come home with bruises on different parts of my body. However, I never gave up. I was persistent. I had to conquer this task!  One day, I was practising near the pool-side. I was so embarrassed that day because I ended up in the pool with my bike with so many people watching. I went home disappointed. I told myself, “Never mind, I will try harder tomorrow”. I was determined to learn this skill, despite the embarrassing failures that I encountered.

On the 91^st day, my body finally learned how to balance and I was riding a bicycle – IT WAS BEAUTIFUL!

The feeling was as good as flying.  I will never forget that day!

The moral is, don’t ever lose hope and give up. If I had given up on the 90^th day, then I would have never seen the 91^st day.

Keep going and going, till you make it.

My first race

In primary two, I had my first sports day. I was extremely excited to take part in my first race. At first, the school did not allow me to take part because of my limitations and felt it would be unfair towards me. I pleaded and begged them to let me participate. In the end, they could not bear to see my spirit fall and gave me a chance to take part. Before the race, my father told me this – his exact words were, “ Son, a champion is not a guy who knocks others down, but one who is ready to stand up and fight despite getting knocked down a countless number of times”.

During the race, because of my poor balance and coordination, I fell a countless number of times. But each time I fell, that sentence came to my mind, and I got up. I was bleeding, but I still ran, eventually completing the race. The school was blown away when I finished the race and my father knew that he had given birth to a champion!

“SUFFER THE PAIN OF DISCIPLINE OR SUFFER THE PAIN OF REGRET”