Speaker Jam 2024

Posted on June 26, 2024

Welcome back to my blog! Recently, I got to do something out of my comfort zone and in this blog, I am going to be talking about that.

On June 12th, there was an event called Speaker Jam held by the Butler County Community Support Program at one of the local parks where I live. It was an opportunity for people in recovery to share their stories. They had several vendor tables from local organizations that passed out information from their company and other stuff such as pens, fridge magnets, stickers, and fidgets. They also passed out bagged lunches with hoagies, chips, and cookies.

Prior to the event, I volunteered to speak at it, which was a big deal for me because normally, I wouldn’t do something like that. I knew there was going to be a lot of people there and to be honest, I didn’t think I’d be able to speak in front of a lot of people. But I decided that it would be good for me to share my story because maybe, it could help someone else.

All the speakers did an incredible job. It was really inspiring to hear that even though they had their obstacles, they still managed to find their way through it. When it was my turn to speak, I was very nervous. I had everything that I was going to say written down in advance. Even though I was reading off something, I still felt like I was unprepared and not doing as well as the other speakers. But, as I kept speaking, I started to feel a lot better. Ultimately, I am glad I did it and I’m really grateful for the experience.

In closing, if you or of someone you know is struggling, help is available. You can call or text 988 to talk with a crisis counselor. Please know that you are not alone and you are always enough. As always, never give up. See you in the next blog!