Geplaatst:18 apr 2007 14:41 - Gewijzigd: 18 apr 2007 14:41

Toespraak ”Take of your mask” van Phoibe Renema

Phoibe Renema (18) uit Houten heeft de Engelstalige speechwedstrijd van de BBC gewonnen. Voor haar toespraak ”Take of your mask” (Zet je masker af) ontving Phoibe de BBC Speaking Award.

Audiostream:

Take of your mask
When I first came to stand here in front of you, each one of you unconsciously formed an opinion about me. Now let me ask you a question: How do you know for sure that I am who you think that I am?
I mean, I came in with this sweet smile on my face and acting very lovely, but how do you know that I’m not this nasty person that you absolutely don’t want to get around with? On the other hand, I could stand here with a long face and an expression that says: Keep away form me, while in fact, I’m a very nice and pleasant person.
How come this is possible?
My piano teacher once said to me: The most difficult thing in the art of making music is to play naturally.
This statement raises three questions:
1.   Why don’t we play naturally?
2.   Why is it so difficult to play naturally?
3.   Why should we play naturally?
First of all, why don’t we play naturally? I mean, why do we, almost naturally, hide our real nature, and put on a mask?
I think there are different reasons. We all know the phenomenon of peer pressure: We want to be like others. On the other hand, it can be that we don’t want to be like others, but someone different. We want people to look at us like we’re special. We want them to say: Wow! He’s so great! Or: Wow! She’s so super!
It also can be that we’ve got problems in our lives that we don’t want to show anybody.
This brings me to my second question: why is it so difficult to play naturally?
The simple answer is: Because the real you is vulnerable.
We’re afraid that other people, who are also wearing a mask, will either make fun of you, hurt you or ignore you. That’s why this mask could come very handy! Everybody thinks you’re this great girl or guy, they all think it’s fun to be around you, nobody asks about your problems, nobody knows about your hurt, they all like your mask… So… Why should we take of our masks? Why should we play naturally?
Let me give you an illustration. One that I think will speak more to the ladies in this room. Imagine yourself getting a diamond ring. You open the little black box, and WOW!!! There’s this shiny golden ring with this huge diamond. Man, it must have cost a fortune! And just as you were thinking of how expensive it must have been, your boyfriend whispers: Too bad… it’s fake… What happens? The ring looses all it’s value and isn’t even worth a penny. You see, it’s the genuineness of the diamond that makes the ring valuable. It’s the same with people. It’s the genuineness of a person’s character that makes you a valuable person. And a lovable person too. Besides that, what will happen to a fake ring? Soon it will loose its shine and eventually it will brake. It’s the same with people. You can’t keep on your mask forever. Sooner or later you’re going to burst!
We can also compare our masks with the cover of a CD. It’s made up beautifully, with nice pictures and text and stuff. But isn’t it the simple round disc inside the cover that produces the beautiful music? The cover should reflect what’s on the CD, not give a false image of what’s inside.
Your behavior should reflect your character, not give a false image of who you are!
That’s why: take of your mask. Show everyone who you really are. Don’t be afraid to show the real you. Your genuine character is valuable!
While I was writing this down another thought came to my mind, that I would like to share with you in closing. It is the question: How do we take of our masks, and how do we help others take of theirs?
A couple of years ago I was wearing a mask too. I went through a period of struggles to take it off. And in this period, I learned how important real friends are. ‘Cause one particular friend came to me and said: You know what you need is vitamin L. And I was like: Vitamin L???? What in the world is she talking about? She said: It’s Love. And she was right you know. If we would give each other love, and I don’t mean the mushy goo-goo love, but the love of a friend, the love that Jesus meant when he said: Love your neighbor as yourself, if we would give each other that love, we would help everyone tremendously to take of his or her mask. That’s why I would like to end my speech with a little poem. It says: The love in your heart wasn’t put there to stay. Love isn’t love ‘till you give it away…
Thank you for you attention.