Dark Thoughts

This is the speech that I gave at Swan Toastmasters International Speech Contest.

Dark, but uplifting.

Room With a View

I am so cold.
The damp air chills me to the bone
The rough concrete sucks my innre heat from me
An icy drop of condensation drips onto my cheek from the underside of the bridge.

I am so cold.

I shiver and wrap my jacket around me even tighter to preserve what little heat remains within me.

I am so cold.

I exhale and watch the little white cloud form before me.

I inhale the cold air into my core. The mell of week old bait and fish guts overwhelmes my sense of smell as another wave of nausea overcomes me and I begin to shiver uncontrollably.

This is the fourth time that I have woken tonight - it is hard to sleep when you are so cold. But at least there are less than 3 hours remaining until the warmth of the morning sun ends the pain ofthe cold.

I know this because most of the city's street lights are off, and they usually stay lit until 3AM.

I look across the Swan River from beneath the Narros Bridge and see the warm light from the top floor of the Peninsula Hotel - A Room With a View is what the neon sign says.

I wonder what's happening up there tonight, in that warm light? I wonder what they can see from that top floor?

Not me of course. I am one of the Invisibles, one of Perth's Underculture, one of the Lost Generation.

I force myself to feel the warmth of that top floor party, and fall back into a fitful sleep.

It's morning. The sun is up.

I get to my feet and fish in my pockets for the bread roll that I picked up from the crate of leftovers left outside the bakery last night.

What a FANTASTIC Day. I have food and I'm going to uni. I am Lucky - I am going places!

I work hard at uni over the next three months and struggle in my day to day quest for survival. Life is hard, but I guess that's the price that you pay for independence, and having a burning desire to acheive on your own.

At the end of the university semester, I am blessed. I manage to get a vacation job working on the mines in Kambalda - Western Australia.

I seize the opportunity with both hands. While the other students are partying and drinking, I am studying and saving my money. That money is used to pay for my last 2 years at university.

Unfortunately, at the end of those two years, the bottom has fallen out of the gold price, and hence the mining industry in Australia in general. There are no jobs for metallurgists.

Again, I am lucky, and am offered honours, along with a $7000 stipend.

I accept, and I work extremely hard to complete my project. Seven Days a week for 15 months and finally I submit my thesis and receive my degree, first class honours and most importantly, a job offer from my honours sponsor.

It would have been so easy to give up, when I was under that bridge, but I had a fire in my belly to keep the cold at bay. I had a vision. I had a burning desire to return to the Swan River and to enjoy the view.

Last Christmas. December 20th. My current employer invited me to their christmas function - at the Peninsula Hotel. Dressed in a Top-Hat and Tails I emerged to the warmth and friendliness of my team from work, on to the top floor.

What a fantastic evening. Fabulous food, great wine, and the most congenial company one could wish for.

During that night, I took some time out for myself, and wandered over to the window and looked out across the Swan River at the South Perth foreshore. I looked at the lights, the peaceful river, and as my vision tracked across to the right eventually at the Narrows Bridge.

With a tear in my eye, I remembered looking at this room on that cold night a few years earlier. I HAD MADE IT!!!

I was a success.

Now I see this as only a small step in a much larger journey. I still have that burning desire. I still have that passion that will see me soar even higher and acheive so much more.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Fellow Toastmasters - I would like to leave you with a message tonight for those times when things feel so overwhelming, for when your goals and dreams seem so far away, and difficult to acheive.

You can give up any time...

So why give up now?