Personal Reflective Essay: Extemporaneous Forensics

State championship medals are not easily attained; they are obtained even less simply when undermined by a potentially crippling and painfully uncontrollable neurological disorder. When a person thinks of Tourette’s syndrome, he or she likely does not conceive a teenager gifted in public speaking. In order to accomplish my high school ambition of winning state in extemporaneous forensics, I had to combat muscular tics so stifling that I was prescribed a muscle relaxer to quell the nerve pain I had caused. I have Tourette’s syndrome. Despite common, untrue stereotypes, I do not unmanageably blurt out obscenities at unpredictable moments. Rather, I have had transient, tedious tics (repetitive, non-rhythmic motor movements involving discrete
I attempted to manage the repetitive neck movement as I had all the prior muscular motions, but the gruesome pain I began experiencing in my neck and mockery I received from my classmates compelled me to acknowledge that this tic was more severe than its predecessors. More upsetting than the mimicry and pain, however, was the fact that my disorder was crippling my ability to prosper in extemporaneous forensics. Extemporaneous forensics was and is my primary extracurricular activity; I had come second in Virginia the prior year, and sought to win state. In addition to impairing my everyday functions and causing bodily pain, my tic was beginning to hinder my chances of reaching my goal of becoming a state champion in my favorite
I captured top three positions at the conference and regional competitions, propelling me to the state finals. The majority of seasoned competition in forensics I would face, if history had an indication, would be from the other region; with my persistent neck movements, I stood no chance against its competitors. The judges at state are not civilians, as they typically are in conference and regional competitions; rather, they are experienced forensics coaches. The judges at state would not be quick to show mercy on my affliction, and a doctor’s note would not bestow any sympathy upon me. Knowing my chances of victory were slim in my present state, I trained with my coaches and began taking medication to suppress my neurological impediment. Despite the medical improbability of overcoming Tourette’s syndrome in a situation characterized by high levels of anxiety, I did not twitch my neck once in the state competition. Though I fell short of the gold medal that year, falling second to the woman who had defeated me in the year prior, I was content. My overcoming of a disorder that can cripple the most resolute of men and women was as much of an achievement as winning state could have been. The following year, complemented by a newfound sense of my resilience, I won the VHSL State Championship in extemporaneous forensics;