A problem you encountered and how you solved or managed it

I lay down slouched in the comfy sofa as I tried to memorise my script. I was preparing for an English speech competition and I had to, other than write a 500-word essay on my view of corruption, speak fluently.

This was almost impossible as I have a speech disorder: stuttering. It was one of my greatest disabilities and many problems arose from it, such as the pain of being teased and bullied. I lived with it and signing up for the competition is a way of challenging myself. After memorising the script, I spent a few hours of trying to correct my slurred speech, my energy-demanding act was in vain.

Even though I felt as worn out as an old punching bag I had to go on. After another few minutes of stuttering, punches seemed to be raining down, hitting on my injuries. I had no one to talk to at the lowest point of my life as I was an orphan. The feeling was terrible: When you fell, you had nobody to hold you; When you were silent, nobody came to sit a while with you; When your heart sank, nobody removed all the sadness from it. It was although the entire world was on your shoulders, with nobody to help you.

I fell down on my knees and closed my eyes, probably in exhaustion, however, the real reason, I do not know. I have to overcome this challenge, I thought. How would I face even tougher ones in the future? I would become a cripple if I went on like this, I've got to stop, I've got to get up...

With that in mind, I kept going and stood there gulping air. I calmed myself down, visualizing the breezy atmosphere beside the sea. "Hello ladies and gentlemen," I let out. It really worked! Oh, I am going to get nervous again, I thought. I pronounced each syllable correctly, although not fluently. I felt this to be a great advancement. Very soon, I was able to talk fluently. With warm beads of tears streaming down my puffy cheeks, I lay down and had a good night's sleep.

Although I did not clinch any honourable title the next day, but I knew that I had tried my very best giving it all till the very last bit, and I gave myself a pat on the back for being so courageous and obstinate. When we fall down, we should get up and work even harder.