I Used to Be Shy

My name is Valeria, and I'm from Quito, Ecuador. Three years ago, my family moved to a small town in Ohio. I was fourteen, and my English was terrible. Well, it wasn't terrible, but I thought it was.

I used to hide at the back of the class. I used to sit next to the window and look at the trees. When the teacher asked a question, I used to look at my shoes. I didn't use to speak in English at all. Not one word. At lunch, I used to eat alone and send messages to my friends in Quito.

Then, one day in March, Mrs. Keller, my English teacher, stopped me after class. "Valeria, the school radio needs a new voice for the morning news. I think you have a nice voice." I said no. She asked again the next day. I said no again. She asked a third time, and I said, "Okay, just one time."

Before the first program, I practiced the news twenty times in my bedroom. After reading the first sentence, my voice stopped shaking. After the second sentence, I forgot about the microphone. Three minutes later, it was over, and I wanted to do it again.

Now I read the news every morning, and I also present a music program on Fridays. I still sit next to the window, but I don't look at the trees anymore. My friends in Quito listen to the program online. "You used to be so shy!" they say. I know. I used to be. Not now.