When his passion led him to try something new, Steven Buks learned anything is possible if you put your mind to it.
The spotlight shines on my face. An audience of hundreds watches as I get on stage and do what I love -- public speaking.
I am someone who loves public speaking. If I see an opportunity to speak publicly, I take it. Throughout high school, I learned how to attract the attention of audiences through the tone, pitch, enthusiasm, and non-verbal gestures that I can use.
Later, I became a sports announcer, I provided commentary for basketball, football, and other sports. I am someone who surprisingly knows nothing about sports. And I knew I wasn’t qualified at first however I knew that with some help, I would slowly understand what sports even are. I didn’t want to be afraid of not being good enough for something or not knowing enough about something and deny myself a potentially fun experience.
Now, at the first game I was barely able to keep up with what was happening. It was the first time I had ever actually seen a football game and I had trouble understanding what I was even watching. I considered quitting. However, I started to ask some people around me for help and someone told me what to say, they told me when someone scored what their number was and I was able to pick up what football was through that and my announcing skills because of that improved.
People shouldn’t be afraid to express themselves publicly, even if they may not be experts in what they’re talking about. You still have something to say don’t you? Going out of your comfort zone is one of the most fun things you can do whether its sports announcing or taking a sky diving trip or things like that. The reason why is because it’s something you're not used to. If you're afraid of doing something because you don’t think you’re good enough, don’t let that stop you. Let that motivate you to do better and improve your skills.
Looking back on it I realize that anyone can do anything if they put their mind to it. And if me, someone who only watched the Super Bowl for the Marvel trailers can do sports announcing, you can do whatever you put your mind to.
With a Perspective, this is Steven Buks.
Steven Buks attends Washington High School in San Francisco. His piece was produced with free curriculum from KQED’s perspectives Youth Media Challenge.