When I was 5 years old, I fell in love. It was not a transient, reciprocative sort of an affair that I expected anything from. It was a love I knew most wouldn't understand.

It was a love that a toddler was handed over by her class teacher in the form of a poem recitation competition and a stage. It was a love for the mic. I vividly remember the moment I knew that the two of us, the mic and me, had a long journey ahead; that of a lifetime. Ever since that moment, I have strived to encompass as many eyes and ears as I could, through my voice.

My familial and academic upbringing ensured that I had the privilege to constantly question everything that was presented to me as a given. And the stage, well, it simply gave me the platform I needed to do so. Throughout the years, I participated and competed in all the arenas of public speaking I could possibly get my hands on. From declamations to youth parliaments to extempores to debates and even open mics and poetry, I did it all. However, the one which intrigued me the most and quite frankly, still does, begins with, "the house believes…”

As the preparation time of a debate begins, this phrase triggers a routine: I internalize my stance- for or against- notwithstanding my actual beliefs; I brainstorm both sides of the motion to build my own argument while anticipating my opponents’. This routine has now become second nature. Every time I hear an assertion, I instinctively start evaluating it from all perspectives- I don’t blindly accept it if I agree or naively count it out if I disagree. I believe that a debater's stance doesn’t decide the winner, their arguments do. Debating has fostered in me a critical thinker, an unflinching public-speaker, and a leader. Be it through the day-to-day banter or scathing contests over critical policy issues, I wish to never rest my case.

Just as special a place as debating carries in my heart, so do some debates. Behes is one of those. The first time I worn a Behes batch was back in 2016, it was a regional Dwarka round, and I was a cub who used wikipedia during debates and hadn't met her team members till that very day.

Some 2 years down the lane, the same, very hesitant cub, alongside some of the best debaters she'd known, found herself holding the champions trophy of the lions division of Maha Behes 2018, which, (I'll brag a little here) was one of the largest national rounds ever.

However, to say that a winning experience and a trophy is all that this community has accorded me with, would be a disgrace. I learnt about people, with people. Having to talk. There were times when my conscious stood at crossroads with what I was about to defend.

And above all, that is what debating and Behes gave me; perspective. The lens needed to see the other side of the coin, to acknowledge the overlooked and appreciate the contrasting.