Before we took the stage we didn’t expect anything to go wrong, but surprisingly that was not the case. The equipment for our PowerPoint presentation did not work, and we were told that we had to explain our project with bare words. A sudden feeling of panic rushed through my body.
It was the Social Event Night on the third day of the Montessori Model United Nations Conference. My committee was the Non-Governmental Organization Forum. In the past two days, six other delegates and I have formed a team and created an NGO together to solve the problem of child rights in Malawi. This night was the final night to show our work to delegates from all committees, and wait for donors—those delegates who have MMUN dollars—to donate to our organization.
Going up on stage, we first did our experiment as rehearsed, after which a rather loud round of applause could be heard from downstage. Then, we spoke in turn, and soon it was mine. Grabbing the microphone tightly, I felt my voice tremble. How am I ever going to pull this off? I was too nervous to think about anything else. But I started to remember how each of us gradually blended in our group; how much effort we put into perfecting our project; and of course, how seriously we wanted to help those Malawian children who were not as lucky as we were. These thoughts gave me courage to speak up. Although what I did was merely putting an end to our presentation, I was quite proud of myself.
This is the whole point of MMUN: Stepping out of my comfort zone and loudly stating my point; letting my voice be heard and always remembering that I have the ability to change the world.