Melinda Guo: A Letter to Principal Lin
- kudoseducationteam
- Jun 18, 2017
- 4 min read
In the wake of reflecting on recent news about the future, I find myself reflecting on the past and feeling great gratitude for the formative experiences and people who have helped me up to this point.
Joining and sticking to Kudos has been, hands down, one of the best choices I have made.
For me, middle school was a two-year period of struggling to fit in, searching for identity, and navigating the world through a lens of low confidence — the typical prepubescent existential crises. My middle school community celebrated those who pulled off an aura of cool indifference, and I did not fit into this cookie-cutter image of “popularity”. The apathetic, homogenous environment of my school suffocated my creativity, expression, and exploration of identity.
In a way, Kudos was a form of escapism from my “reality” at the time. Public speaking was the outlet through which I felt comfortable with being different, was encouraged to step out of my comfort zone, and developed confidence to navigate the world.
Disclaimer: I am not a natural performer nor public speaker. I was mediocre, at best, at my first speech competition. I bought a pair of awkwardly-fitted slacks and monochromatic checkered button-up from Kohls the night before competition day. Inside the judging room, I remember feeling the adrenaline pulse through my veins, wiping my sweaty hands on my slacks as I anxiously awaited my turn, and forgetting my speech for the longest 5 seconds of my life. Just as in middle school, I felt uncomfortable and out of place. But this was different. It was the good kind of uncomfortable. Sitting in that chair, and watching the other competitors walk up to the stage, I was at awe with the confidence, self-assurance, and expressiveness with which a girl performed her prose piece. She was unabashed with being different and theatrical with facial expressions and hand gestures that would have been snickered at back in my school. But at that competition, her performance, her deviation from the cookie-cutter mold was embraced and awarded.
I remember walking away from that competition with empty hands, a feeling of awe with the eloquent and expressive, and the certainty that such qualities were only reserved for others.
A year later, I decided to give public speaking a second chance for reasons I do not recall but most likely because my mom signed me up again. From there on out, I was hooked. I competed in prose, original oratory, original advocacy, storytelling, declamation, humorous interpretation, etc at regional, state, and national competitions. I fell in love with connecting with people through my presence, speaking with my words, facial expressions, and gestures. I was surprised at my ability to articulate myself to other people. And with the confidence in my ability to speak came the confidence that I can do anything that I aspire.
However, my time at Kudos was not a solo journey. My competitive success and greater personal development was only possible with the support, mentorship, and guidance of the people at Kudos: Principal Laura, Tyson, Adrian Zaw, Andrew Rothschild, and Scott Wheeler. These people are all integral figures who have emboldened me with the confidence, insight, and inspiration to be the best I can be. Thank you, Laura and Tyson, for building an organization that gave 12-year old Melinda -- who felt so small at school -- a platform to compete and place nationally in speech.
Thank you, Adrian, for bringing out the weirdest parts of me and pushing me farther beyond my comfort zone than I could ever imagine. At a point in my life where I did not feel comfortable being myself, I could be whoever I wanted through prose, popping into different characters through humorous interpretation, and becoming the beauty or the beast in my first Storytelling competition.
Andrew and Scott -- I have had few experiences as self-actualizing as performing my original speeches through Original Oratory and Advocacy. School was a place where I learned pre-existing ideas through rote memorization. It was passive and dictated to me. But through original oratory and advocacy, I developed my own ideas.
Speaking on education reform, stereotypes, and appreciating the smaller things in life sparked my intellectual development and activated my capacity for independent thought. More than I realize, writing and performing speeches on those three issues have shaped many of my core values to this day. It is only through the mature and developed insight, mentorship, and guidance of Andrew and Scott that I could effectively convey my thoughts.
I am blessed to say that Kudos, its people, and my experiences from it emboldened me with a passion for youth advocacy, personal confidence, and the ambition to bring my words to fruition.
I am immensely grateful for all that Kudos has offered me. It has been a fundamental stepping stone in my personal development and profoundly shaped my character today.
Thank you, and I wish Kudos the best of luck in its future endeavors.
Warm regards,
Melinda Guo
About Melinda
Melinda took her first Kudos class in 2010 when in 6th grade. She has been accepted by Stanford University, UPenn, and Princeton University. and will attend college in Fall 2017. In 2020 Melinda volunteered to help out the next generation of Kudos speakers at the 2020 Stanford Invitational, helping two middle school students break at the high school level!
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