Bethany Irvine captivated the Write the World community with her speech about using your voice, no matter how small it may seem, to affect change. The Scottish writer asserted that no matter what what challenges we might be up against, we’re all worthy we’re all worthy and capable of improving the world we live in. Today, Bethany talks more about what it was like to record this piece despite her shyness, and what she hopes all of us at Write the World will take away from her bold words.
What do you hope readers will take away from your Speech Writing Competition entry?
I hope readers will understand that there are struggles that everyone goes through even if they’re not talked about or seen. The world isn’t just sunshine and rainbows, but we can change the future. All we have to do is take a stand, use our voices, and raise awareness. We are all human no matter how we identify and we should all be equal despite our race, sexuality, gender and religion.
Your piece won the award for Best Delivery of a Speech. When you were writing your piece, how much did knowing that you’d eventually record the piece play into how you wrote your speech?
When I first started writing the piece, I didn’t think that I would actually say the speech out loud and record it–it was a last minute idea. But then I thought to myself, “why write just for myself when I can include everyone?” When I did finish the speech, it was very late at night for me and I had to send in my entry before it closed. I said to myself, “why not?” and grabbed my things and went down into my kitchen and recorded the piece. It took me quite a while to record it as I had no clue how, but I eventually just sent it in and look where I am!
What was your reaction to Guest Judge Stephen Krupin’s commentary on your piece?
I was actually very surprised when I read Krupin’s commentary on my piece. I enjoyed it very much. I jumped for joy and almost cried. I’d never received feedback on my writing from someone who hadn’t met me before. I found out that I won the Best Delivery of a Speech on my birthday! To know that I have a voice, and that I can reach people and talk about things that are important is amazing. As I mentioned in my speech, I’m a shy girl. I don’t like speaking in front of people because I always feel like something is going to go wrong or I’m going to mess up. But reading my speech aloud has increased my confidence, not only in my ability to write, but in myself.
Do you have any writing resolutions for the new year?
I hope to write more and to improve my writing. I’m still very young and I have a lot more ahead of me as a writer. Writing is my way to express how I feel. I had never actually had a passion for it until I got to high school where I found it easier to express myself in the form of writing rather than saying things out loud. I used it as an escape and as a safe place for myself and I hope to continue that.
