Persisting: Considering debate? Go For It.
By Elizabeth Johnstone, HW ‘24
At the beginning of my freshman year, I was eager to dip my toes into the various extracurriculars my school offered. My deans and family told me 9th grade was the year to try out a handful of activities and see which suited me best. Debate was always in the back of my mind, so instead of taking the regular speech class for my public speaking requirement, I signed up for debate class.
I immediately fell in love with the activity, from topic research to color-coded flows and fast-paced speeches. When my teacher (and now coach) invited the class to join the real debate team, I was hooked.
Although I was initially excited to join the team, I became a little more hesitant about the commitment as I learned more details about debate. What was this new form of debate called “LD”? How would it work on Zoom? Would I be able to debate with braces? In hindsight, all my concerns were trivial, but as a new freshman, I had no idea what debate really entailed.
Despite my worries, I knew that I enjoyed debate too much not to sign up. I decided to give the team a try, and I’m now enjoying my second year of Lincoln-Douglas debate. While it took some time to adjust, my initial worries about the activity quickly went away. My supportive coaches helped guide me through my first year of the new activity. Most importantly, though, I was surrounded by dedicated, friendly teammates who were in the same boat as I was. We were all learning together, and we all shared collective ups and downs as a squad.
Qualms about jumping into something new are certainly common. While it may seem that many people already know which activities to join, in truth, it takes a little experimentation to find out for sure.
In my experience, if you’re considering debate at all, join the roster and attend a few practices. Regardless of your age, it is always a good idea to try something new, especially if it interests you.
The worst-case scenario is that you don’t like it and choose to leave the activity. If, after some time, you don’t feel that debate is for you, there’s no shame in pursuing something else. You’ll know a little more about your interests than if you hadn’t signed up, and you can continue finding your passion without a “what-if” hanging over your head.
The best-case scenario is much more rewarding. You might find that debate brings you into a community of supportive people and enables limitless personal growth. As my first year in debate progressed and the novice group dove deeper into niche, often ignored topics, my research skills sharpened. I slowly became a faster speaker and thinker, and I learned to apply a surprising amount of the knowledge I have been learning in debate to real life.
Unlike my acquisition of academic and speaking skills, which take months or years to pick up, something I immediately noticed about the debate was the deep sense of community within my team. The coaches always supported me and created a culture in which growth and happiness came before our tournament record. We challenged ourselves, and every day was an opportunity to support our team members. Varsity debaters would sign up to judge novices, and novices would work together on assignments. Some of my favorite parts of debate are just having fun and laughing at silly jokes with friends.
If you’re still not convinced that trying debate will improve your life, you don’t have to take my word for it. Go to a few practices to see if you might be interested in making a long-term commitment to the activity. I promise that if debate is for you, you’ll quickly realize that you’ve found your place.