Proj. No. 1 - The Icebreaker

Project No. 1 is the introduction or “ice breaker” speech given by new club members. It initiates the new Toastmaster to his first official audience, allowing him and the evaluators to discover his strong and weak speaking and presentation skills. More so, the “ice breaker” speech enables other members to get to know the new member better - in his own words.

For my first speech, I decided to talk about my experience as a cancer patient and survivor. I wanted my club members to understand that despite life’s difficulties, people should be motivated to live, in the best possible way that they believe they can.

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What if, during one of your visits to your doctor, he tells you, “I’m sorry but you have cancer”.

What would you do? Well, would you simply believe it. Would you blame yourself or blame God? Or would you just accept it and say, “So what? So, I’ll die.” As hard as it seems, I did all of these in one day. And that was the one day that I will never forget.

Surely, he could be kidding, right? There’s no way that could happen to him. Ladies and gentlemen, six cycles of chemotherapy, thirty-three sessions of radiotherapy and two major surgeries were what it took for me to be here – in front of all of you – and deliver this intro speech.

So, what did I do? How did I survive?

I became a fighter.

Do you know what happens to you when your body goes through chemotherapy? The light hurts your eyes, the food - no matter how great - stinks. You can’t eat. You can’t sleep. Everything sucks. And you have to live with the fact that tomorrow may be your last day. There I was, helpless, too weak to even move out of my own bed.

I lost my faith. I felt like I lost my mind. And the only thoughts that kept me strong – that kept me alive – were the memories of a loved one and a daughter I could have been without. There’s truth in knowing the real value of those who matter most, when you’re on the brink of losing them.

But more than being just a fighter, I had to become something more.

I became a lover.

I learned to love life despite its cruelties, notwithstanding the injustices. And how I loved unconditionally! Love and give the world all you’ve got and you can get hurt. But love and give the world all you’ve got anyways because that’s what life is all about. Isn’t it?

You can’t stop the world from spinning, the rain from falling or a flower from blooming. Well, not if you end its life. But who are we to end another’s, much more our own? If one day, you find yourself in that spot, where all hope is gone, please remember me – someone who’s been in the dumps. Once a loser, once an alcoholic … but that story is for another time.

Remember … To fight for yourself and fight for those you love. Love those you fight for, and most of all, love yourself because that’s where it all begins – from within. That’s what you do and should do. It doesn’t have to take your doctor or anybody else to say, “I’m sorry. You have cancer.”

Hello! My name is Louie: a fighter, a lover, a survivor. It was a pleasure meeting you.