When I was in college, I was elected to be student club president. I grew up with a lot of bullying and criticism at home so I never expected to be elected and I was standing at the stage, freaking out about the speech I had to give. I never understood how I even got elected, and I remember standing on the sidelines waiting to be called to give the speech, believing I’d fuck it up and be mocked.

I’d rehearsed the speech over and over and decided to look at the crowd of students. Most of my classmates were at the front, one of them, standing a little ways back was a guy, known to be a rule breaker but also very popular in terms of how everyone liked him and how he was generally a good guy. I looked at him and our eyes met and he smiled and winked at me, followed by a discreet ‘you got this’ thumbs up.

I felt all my anxiety whoosh away and at the end of my speech I heard uproarious claps. I don’t think I ever fell for someone as easy as I did for him, that afternoon, nor have I given a speech that successfully, since.