It’s hard to imagine now, but I once was terrified of having to give a three-minute oral book report. I was in sixth grade at the time. My English teacher, the first person whom I had ever met who possessed a doctoral degree, required each of us to deliver a very brief report.
So much time has passed, and I fail to remember the exact title of the book for which I had to deliver a report. I absolutely loved to read (I still do). I really enjoyed writing (nothing has changed, in several decades). However, I was simply terrified of having to give an oral book report at that time in my life. I was painfully shy.
I remember that I begged my mother to allow me to stay home from school the day that I was scheduled to give my report. My stomach was absolutely in knots, and I had experienced severe difficulty sleeping the night before my onstage debut. Most wisely, my mother refused to allow me to stay home from school that day.
