She Wouldn’t Look Me In The Eye

I thank God for the opportunity to conduct a Speech and Drama training programme in a school in Bishan from January to early October last year. I was there once a week. I had such a wonderful time with some 40 eight year old children.

Among these lovely children, my encounter with a little left an indelible mark on me. When I first took notice of this girl, I realized that she was never able to look me in the eye. I cannot put my finger into the specific reason for that. She could be extremely shy or insecure. Sometimes, I did sense some nervousness in her mannerisms.

As the months went on, I saw her becoming increasingly relaxed. Sometime in September, something happened that brought such joy to my heart. I was awarding some points to the different groups of children for a friendly competition for a segment of the training and for the first time, this little girl stood up and shared how she felt the points could be awarded more fairly. I was startled; she stood up and spoke her mind before the other 39 children. It took a lot of courage to do just that. She made my day. Her confidence level was evidently raised. I saw how she grew as a person. I saw how she came out of her shell and shone brightly.