An Ant, Me, and a Mango Tree

   My father has a big mango farm in India. When I was a little girl, one day in the summertime, I went with my family to the farm. Everywhere I looked, I saw lots of mango trees. I noticed there were mangoes on the trees, as well as on the ground.  I placed my little chair under a large mango tree and sat down. Curiously, I started counting the mangoes- one, two, three... Suddenly, a colony of ants caught my attention. They were trying to climb up the tree. As I looked closer, they were trying to go into a little hole in the tree trunk. 

   One ant especially caught my attention as she was carrying a piece of leaf much bigger than her size. She was holding a piece of leaf tightly between its antennas and trying to climb up. She was shaking but was making every single effort to climb up. Suddenly the wind blew and the leaf fell down on the ground. With that, the ant fell too. I was so sad. I got up from my chair and followed the ant inquisitively. As I was looking very closely, I saw she was trying to pick herself up, and was trying to hold that piece of leaf. With some effort, she succeeded, and this time held the leaf more firmly and strongly between her antennae, and then resumed her journey up the tree trunk.

   My journey with Toastmasters started in October of 2016 with the intention of improving upon my communication skills, and to be a better speaker. Slowly I started to understand different roles in a meeting. I started the Competent Communication Manual to give speeches. When I gave my speeches, I would feel very nervous. I would shake and tremble.  Regardless, and most importantly, after the speeches I would get constructive feedback, and this motivated me to move on. I also started the Competent Leadership Manual. I started taking the role of the timer and slowly was also getting familiar with the roles of table topic master, speech evaluator and so on. 

   As the next Toastmaster year arrived, 2017-18, I was encouraged by the leadership team to take the role of the Secretary. I completed the Competent Communication Manual. I knew I was doing more than I was used to; however, I had the inspiration from my childhood of that little ant which was carrying the large piece of leaf much bigger than her size. I kept on going with perseverance and determination.  Then I completed the Competent Leadership Manual and subsequently earned Advanced Leadership Bronze.

  Therefore, I was able to earn three educational awards in the same Toastmasters’ year and received the Triple Crown. I was feeling the sense of accomplishment which the ant might have felt after reaching the hole in the tree trunk with the large piece of leaf. This memory keeps me motivated and reminds me to never give up and keep trying! 

- Nidhi