Hi everyone,

Last Wednesday, I did my first ice breaker speech at Eduleaders Toastmasters Club. Wow, i must say that i am overwhelming.

Although i have done thousands of speech, but everytime giving a speech it still feels like it was the first time.

Anyhow, this is the poster:

And this is the photos taken during the event, courtesy of my club members:

And this is the video, i recorded using side handphone:

Finally, these are some feedbacks from my peers through the whatsapp group:

There is a lot more for me to learn.

And below, let me share with you the text:

Life is like a box of chocolate

By Nor Azleen binti Abd Rahim

My eyes was closed, I tried to relax. Suddenly I heard whispering, and it getting louder and louder. I felt like a thousand eyes were staring at me. Hardly, I opened my eyes. To my surprises, there were 3 doctors in a white coats and 7 nurses in blue suits gathered around my bed. They look concerned.

I asked, “What is it doctor?”

Assalamualaikum and a very good evening,

Toastmaster of the day, fellow toastmasters and welcome guests.

My name is Nor Azleen binti Abd Rahim, but you can call me Leen. I was born the 2^nd child of 4, in Johor. My mother was a government servant while my late father, well he was a teacher, a taxi driver, a soldier and a few others.

I was raised in Johor, I studied throughout my academic years in Johor. My kindergarten and primary school was in kampung, living with my parents. Then I went to boarding school during the secondary years. I took my first degree right after SPM, graduated in BSc Remote Sensing with honors from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.

After graduating, I worked as a Research Officer in Selangor for two years. Get married and settled down back in Pasir Gudang Johor. Then I took Diploma in Education and served as a teacher in government school.

I am a mother of 3, an 11 years old and a 8 years old daughters, and a 5 years old son. I left my job in 2017 to take care of my children. I really thought that I would become a housewife, a fulltime mother, homeschooling my kids. Well, actually I planned that for 7 years before I quit.

However, I planned and God also planned. His plan is the best. Currently I am living alone in Desaru, Johor. A city that is popular for vacation and staycation. How I ended up here? In desaru and in this toastmasters club.

Let’s get back to my earlier story. It’s happened 2 years ago.

I asked, “What is it doctor? Anything wrong with me?”

To that he replied, “Mam, your oxygen level drop to critical point. Are you having trouble breathing?”

So, cut story short, I was hospitalised for a week. The doctor prescribed me anti depression medicine and I was on medication for about a year.

That hospital incident was a turning point for me. I realized that I took care of people that doesn’t care back for me. I prioritised wrong person in my life. I’ve been neglecting myself for a very long time that my body bounced back to me, in a hard way.

I’ve learnt 3 things from that incident that I would like to share it with you today.

1^st, you have to take care of yourself first. You can’t care for others if you yourself are not well. Start by loving yourself. Putting yourself as a top priorities.

Mothers and wives, women, we tend to care for other people more than we care for ourselves. We are too afraid about what will others say if our children, our husband, our home doesn’t stand to community standard.

But putting ourself first do not mean we neglecting or ignoring other people’s need. Learn how to say NO when we need to. Take time to exercise your body. Go for vacation or staycation, either by yourself or with your buddies.

2^nd, get support from our spouses, family members, friends or even local communities. We are not superhero. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from others. We are not expected to do everything by ourself. We are not expected to be perfect, we are human beings.

When you ask for help and you didn’t get it, don’t take it personal. Depressed people tends to take everything personal.

If you are being belittled by others, because you are asking for help, don’t be afraid to let go of them. Living in a small supportive circle is better than having many toxic people around you.

I must admit, that is one of the main reason I joined Toastmasters. To know people, to be able to have a good nice conversation positively. Working online and from home can be lonely for me. I am new in this town and scared to mingle around with the neighbours. People might ask, am I married, where is my kids, why I am divorced. Questions like that is hard to answer for me.

3rdly, I learnt that we can’t control our fate. We can work as hard as possible, doing everything we could but the result may not to our liking. We make plans, God make plans. And His plan is the best. Trust in Him. Whatever, wherever He puts us in, it’s the best for us.

I never thought that at the age of 43, I would be single again, without my kids living in with me, don’t have place to call my own, living in a city without knowing anyone. It never crossed my mind that I would be given the opportunity to restart my life, a 2^nd chance actually.

As they say, life is like a box of chocolates, it could have a pink chocolate in it, when we start taking care of ourself, getting the right amount of support from people around us, we may never know what surprises God may have for us.

I would like to conclude this speech with this,

“But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah knows, what you know not.”

Surah Al Baqara Ayah 216.

Keep calm and trust in God. Thank you.