(based on true events) …
I didn’t hate Dr. Lee Scanlon per se, but I was incredibly scared of him. Our first encounter was beyond humiliating. What’s more, it was in front of a room full of people. I was so embarrassed, I nearly passed out (I’ll get to that in a minute.) Even though I despised him at that very moment and frankly, in a bunch of other ones, too, he is indeed the man responsible for my success in television.
Matter of fact, he single-handedly beat some sense into me, toughened me up and then, did what most college professors do: sent me out into the big ol’ world with a daring dream and an indelible sense of determination. His secret to helping me succeed was pretty simple. At least, it seems that way now; when I was a junior in college, not so much.
You see, Dr. Scanlon believed in me so I, in turn, believed in myself. That self-confidence was hard-won, though, and started the very first day of his Broadcast Journalism class, when I was sitting in the back of the room acting nonchalant. He must have smelled my fear from a mile away because he quickly called on me to come to the front of the class, introduce myself and tell everyone why I wanted to be on television.
My face turned beet red, as I shuffled front and center and introduced myself like he asked. “You didn’t say WHY you wanted to be on television,” he snapped in a disparaging tone. In response, my fellow classmates started laughing and heckling me, which made him bellow: “Shut up, people! Go on, Shireen.” I grew woozy and sweaty being in the spotlight. I took a deep breath and quickly blurted out: “I want to be a writer. Someone who tells stories and inspires others. If I can do that, then I want to be on TV.” The room fell silent.
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