Ice Breaker... All about me

Jet...

Jam...

JB....

Bujji...

Mentu..

Guruji...

SJB... All these names refer to me.

Do you want to know more about me?

Can you repeat all the names that I have just mentioned?

Mr. Toastmaster, members and guests, a very Good Evening!

When I was asked to give this ice breaker, I started penning my thoughts on the paper. I was clueless, not knowing where to start from. On thinking for a while, my thoughts reminded me of my birth in a small town called Tuni in Andhra Pradesh.

I was born in the family of Zamindars of Pithapuram. I did my schooling from Tabitha English Medium School along with my only younger sibling Sirisha. When it comes to studies, till 4th standard, I was always 1st in my class. (Come on clap.. applaud me..) I was always first in the class, not by the rank but by the attendance rolls. I attribute this record to my cute and sweet little girl friend dolly. In my fifth class, dolly’s father got transferred to some other location. Dolly left not only the school but also a big void in my little heart. Till that point of time, I don’t have a hobby. So, I cultivated an inclination towards watching movies, sleeping and forgetting.

For a change, I appeared for an examination conducted by Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya. After going to the examination center, I realized that I forgot to bring my hall ticket. I know that if I tell this to my Dad, he will definitely kick me out. I thought for a while and said “Dad! You have 20 minutes to get my hall ticket from our home. Lets see how quickly you can get it. Come on! Start! Quick” He stared at me angrily and said “You Idiotic fellow!” and rushed to my home and got my hall ticket. Somehow, I secured an admission to Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya.

In spite of being a home maker, my mother encouraged me a lot to work hard in studies. My hard earned efforts in +2 fetched me a berth in BITS Pilani. During that time, I had to make a decision of my life. Whether to catch a train to Pilani or to watch my favorite hero’s movie “Thammudu”, which was released on the same day. I went with the latter. After watching the movie, I went directly to the railway station. At the same time, the train also came on to the platform. I saw my father furiously staring at me on the platform. He said “What the f**k is this?” I said “Cool Dad! Let’s get in” After reaching Pilani, I realized that I forgot my admission letter to BITS. You can imagine how my Dad had reacted. He ran after me to kick me. I said “See Dad! All the girls from my batch are looking at us. Please don’t insult me. I’ll come out with something” Somehow, I could convince “my identity” to the authorities of BITS. I had a great time in my college and many funny things happened to me.

In my college, one day the Chemistry Professor entered the class and said “Dear Students, today we are going to have an interesting and interactive session”. But within five minutes, to his consternation, he found me sleeping in the very first bench. Professor got angry with me and asked me to get up and get lost from the class. The next class is scheduled on 14th of February i,e. the Valentine’s Day. As soon as the professor entered the class, everyone stood up and wished him “Good Morning”. But I stood up and wished him “Happy Valentine’s day Sir!”. Listening to this, the Professor jumped a feet backward and said “Hey man! Go and tell this to your girl friend. Why are you telling this to me? What would others think about us?”

No prizes for guessing what others would think

Later I was placed in Tata Consultancy Services, Hyderabad, where I worked for more than three years. Afterwards I joined Siemens IT Solutions and Services in Bangalore. Initially it pained me a lot for not getting married yet. But after looking at the troubles of my friends who got married, I deem myself to be lucky enough for not getting married yet. I am really fortunate enough to become a member of TCS Maitree Toastmasters Club in Hyderabad. In the last few years, life has taught me many lessons. In Toastmasters session, whenever I come on to this podium, I am bold enough to face audience. My association with Toastmasters for the last two years helped me to be bold enough to face life. I want to take this association forward by becoming a member of LA 1924 Toastmasters Club and this is the reason why I am here before you today.

I won "The Best Speaker" award for this speech.