Episodio 71: Finding Your Voice (Encontrando tu voz)

Duolingo English for Spanish Speakers Podcast

Una tarde de 2016, Diane Peters vio cómo su hija Hazel de nueve años, entraba por la puerta de su casa en Toronto y hacía un anuncio.

Mom…

Ella quería participar en una audición, o audition.

She told us that she wanted to go to an audition for the school glee club! I couldn’t believe it! Hazel was usually shy and often anxious, and she was only nine years old.

She didn’t have experience with singing or performing.

I tried not to show Hazel that I was surprised because I didn’t want her to start worrying about the audition.

Hazel parecía emocionada por la audición del glee club, que es una actividad extracurricular donde los estudiantes interpretaban canciones combinadas con rutinas de baile.

Pero había algo más que motivó a Hazel a participar: era una gran fan del programa de televisión estadounidense llamado Glee.

Hazel and I used to sing music from the show together.

I loved that! She told me she wanted to sing a Taylor Swift song for her audition.

Then she started to sing it to me, but she was really quiet.

It was so hard to hear her.

I was worried that she wouldn’t be chosen to be in the glee club, but I was so proud that she wanted to try.

Welcome, les damos la bienvenida a “Relatos en inglés”, un podcast de Duolingo.

Soy Diana Gameros.

En cada episodio podrás practicar inglés a tu propio ritmo, escuchando historias reales y fascinantes, contadas por las personas que las vivieron.

En este episodio, les traemos historias de dos estudiantes que encontraron su lugar gracias a las actividades extracurriculares en la escuela: el glee club y el equipo de debate.

Diane siempre recuerda a su hija Hazel como una niña dulce y alegre.

Pero también con ansiedad.

En el kinder, lloraba cada vez que su mamá la dejaba en la escuela.

Y a medida que crecía, Diane notaba que la ansiedad de Hazel no mejoraba.

I started to worry about Hazel.

A lot of things stressed her out.

Sometimes, I got calls from teachers at her school, and they told me that Hazel looked anxious in class.

She was afraid to read aloud because she didn’t want to make mistakes.

She was shy and had a hard time meeting new people.

Before school, she often told me that her stomach hurt.

I think it was because she was nervous.

Por este motivo, Diane no solo estaba preocupada por su hija en el corto plazo.

I was afraid that stress could make things in Hazel’s life difficult, like making friends, trying new hobbies, or having a career.

En Canadá y los Estados Unidos, las escuelas ofrecen muchas actividades extracurriculares que se denominan clubes, cuyo objetivo no es sólo académico sino también social y recreativo.

Y en la escuela de Hazel, el glee club formaba parte de una de estas actividades.

Así que en 2016, cuando estaba en cuarto grado y la pequeña llegó a su casa y le dijo a su madre que quería unirse al glee club.

¡Diane estaba encantada!

I was surprised when Hazel wanted to join the glee club because she was not very interested in extracurricular activities.

An audition also seemed stressful, and I couldn’t believe that she wanted to do it.

Hazel is really creative and my husband is a musician, so I could understand why the club was interesting to her.

But when she started to practice for the audition and sang her song so quietly, I was worried.

Para ayudarla a practicar, el papá de Hazel, Tom, tocó la guitarra mientras ella cantaba.

Durante la semana siguiente, Diane, en broma, tarareaba a los gritos la canción de la audición por toda la casa.

My husband and I wanted to make practicing fun.

We tried to help Hazel feel confident to sing louder.

I was so proud and excited, but I didn’t tell her because I didn’t want her to be nervous about the audition.

El glee club de la escuela en Toronto formaba parte de una larga tradición de coros grupales.

Estos clubes comenzaron en Inglaterra en el siglo XVIII y, por lo general, sus miembros cantaban canciones cortas, llamadas glee.

Los clubes escolares de hoy, también conocidos como coros de espectáculos, muestran a los estudiantes cantando y bailando.

Most of the kids in the glee club at Hazel’s school were older than her.

Some of them were three or four years older, which made her a little nervous.

On the day of the audition, I took her to school.

I was anxious and excited.

After the audition, we waited nervously.

Una semana después, Hazel llegó a casa de la escuela con la gran noticia: ¡había ingresado al club glee! Ella fue una de las tres seleccionadas de toda su clase.

I was really happy and proud of Hazel because she was so brave.

Now I just wanted her to have fun and make new friends.

But soon I learned that she had a new challenge.

The glee club was going to sing in a competition!

A menudo, los clubes glee organizan competencias con grupos de otras escuelas y el club de Hazel iba a competir pronto.

Para prepararse, se reunía tres veces por semana a la hora del almuerzo en el salón del coro de la escuela.

Hazel was new and one of the youngest members of the glee club, but learning all of the songs and dances was easy for her.

And slowly, she began to become more confident.

She started making new friends and singing at home.

She stopped worrying at night, and in the morning, she was excited to go to school.

She actually wanted to go to glee club and see her friends! She was feeling more relaxed and happy!

Antes del gran día de la competencia, realizaron algunos ensayos generales, incluido un concierto para toda la escuela.

To prepare for the competition, the club performed for the school.

This made Hazel even more nervous than the competition because she had to perform in front of her classmates.

She had to see everyone at school the next day, so she wanted her performance to be good.

Además de ayudarla a practicar sus canciones, Diane la ayudó a peinarse y maquillarse.

Quería ayudar a Hazel en todo lo que estuviera a su alcance.

On the day of the concert, hundreds of people were there to see the glee club.

I watched Hazel walk on the stage, and she looked a little nervous.

But she was great! She was an amazing performer, and she had a huge smile on her face at the end of the show.

I was so proud! After that performance, Hazel wasn’t worried about the competition — she knew she could do it!

Cuando finalmente llegó el día de la competencia, su madre supo que su hija estaba lista.

Quería desearle buena suerte, así que fue detrás del escenario, o backstage.

It was so exciting to see Hazel backstage.

She was talking to the older girls and putting on makeup, and she seemed so comfortable and happy.

Then, I went to my seat and waited for Hazel’s school to perform.

Hazel walked on stage, completely confident.

It was clear that she practiced all of the songs and the dances.

She was having so much fun!

Diane vio brillar a su hija después de varios años preocupada por su ansiedad.

Ese día, Hazel y su club quedaron en segundo lugar entre ocho coros.

Aunque Diane pensó que deberían haber quedado en primer lugar, el concurso no era lo más importante.

In just a few months, the glee club changed Hazel’s life.

Growing up, Hazel was always so stressed, and I worried that her life was going to be difficult.

But then she joined the club, and she found a community of friends, her creativity, and her confidence.

Al igual que Hazel, Condoleezza Alexis, de diecisiete años, también creció usando su voz.

Pero en lugar de usarla para cantar, la usó para expresar sus opiniones.

I’ve always loved to talk.

As a kid, I had a very loud voice.

In class, my teachers told me that I could be a lawyer because my voice was so loud — and I agreed! I knew I wanted to be a lawyer from a very young age.

Condoleezza creció en Miami, en el estado de Florida.

Desde muy pequeña, su familia había depositado grandes esperanzas en su futuro.

De hecho, su padre la llamó así en honor a Condoleezza Rice, quien fue secretaria de Estado de los Estados Unidos.

Pero había algo más.

My father really liked Condoleezza Rice because she’s a strong, smart, successful Black woman.

He wanted me to be just like her! As a young Black kid growing up in Miami, I wanted to be just as confident as Condoleezza Rice.

I was very curious about everything, and I always wanted to try new things.

Pero en la escuela, Condoleezza comenzó a sentirse insegura consigo misma.

Y había algo más profundo en juego: las microagresiones, o microaggressions, las cuales son interacciones cotidianas y sutiles que transmiten prejuicios contra grupos históricamente marginados.

Most of the other kids at my schools were white, and I experienced microaggressions.

Sometimes they would say things that were offensive.

It wasn’t always on purpose, but it still hurt.

The teachers told us to ignore those kids, or that it was just a joke.

I don’t think teachers supported students of color.

I felt like I was different than the other students, just because I was Black and didn’t look like everyone else.

Para sentirse más aceptada, Condoleezza buscó compañía donde pudo y se terminó juntando con personas que no eran buenos amigos para ella.

In school, I was anxious and afraid to be alone.

So, I became friends with people I didn’t really like.

These people weren’t good for me.

At that time, I thought it was just better to be with people than to be alone, but it actually made me feel less confident.

A pesar de estas dificultades, la propia escuela la introdujo en algo que se convertiría en su gran pasión: el debate, una actividad extracurricular que se remonta a la época colonial en los Estados Unidos.

Originalmente servía a los estudiantes para practicar retórica, pero con el tiempo se convirtió en una actividad cívica.

Así que cuando Condolezza estaba en séptimo grado, su maestra de educación cívica les presentó el formato del debate.

Our teacher put our class into two groups.

Then she gave each group a topic to discuss.

One group had to argue in support of the topic and the other group had to argue against it.

Each student had to stand in front of the class and speak.

It was a lot of fun, and I was pretty good at it! I’ve always enjoyed discussing interesting topics, so this class was perfect for me!

A través del debate, muchos estudiantes no solo pueden aprender y socializar, sino que también pueden adquirir experiencia y nuevas capacidades para la universidad y sus carreras profesionales.

Por eso, Condoleezza quería practicar más.

So when I started high school, I knew I wanted to join the debate team.

I was really excited to discuss different topics, share my opinions, and hear the opinions of my classmates.

And it could prepare me for college and my career as a lawyer.

I also love learning new things, and I knew that I could learn a lot from the other people on the debate team.

Muchas escuelas preparatorias en los Estados Unidos tienen equipos de debate donde los estudiantes se reúnen para discutir temas sociales importantes.

Los líderes de los equipos son estudiantes y asesoran a los otros miembros, dándoles consejos sobre cómo elaborar argumentos y cómo investigar los temas.

Each debate team gets a topic, but we don’t know if we have to argue in support of or against the topic until the debate begins.

So, we have to research both sides of the topic.

Then, we discuss it, and have to follow specific rules.

En el séptimo grado, Condoleezza llevaba ventaja porque había llegado a practicar este formato en su clase de educación cívica.

¡Sabía que tenía un talento natural! Pero unirse al equipo de la escuela preparatoria no era lo mismo.

I was very nervous to join the club.

I didn’t know any of the members.

I worried that I wouldn’t make friends there, and that I would be alone most of the time.

So, before the first meeting, I felt like I couldn’t do it.

I called my parents and asked them to pick me up from school.

I was so nervous! But my parents were busy, so they told me I should just go to the meeting!

Los padres de Condoleezza estaban emocionados de que ella se uniera al equipo de debate.

Pensaron que lo disfrutaría y que era una manera de adaptarse mejor a la escuela.

That first meeting was in my school’s library, and there were thirty other students there! I sat in the back of the room, and then we started talking.

We had short debates about a couple of topics, like whether students should have to wear uniforms at school.

At our meeting, first we had to research the topic.

But you didn’t know which side you had to argue, so I researched and wrote down points for both sides of the debate in order to be prepared.

Then each side had two minutes to present their argument, and afterwards a team leader gave us feedback.

En esa primera reunión, Condoleezza comenzó a darse cuenta de que los otros estudiantes apreciaban uno de los grandes rasgos de su personalidad: la capacidad de hacer de abogada del diablo, o devil’s advocate.

At first, I was nervous to talk in front of everyone, but as soon as I started, I couldn’t stop! I remember being really excited to give my opinion on the topic of school uniforms and discussing it with people on the other team.

And even before I joined the group, I’ve always liked to play devil’s advocate.

Whenever someone gave their opinion about a topic, I loved to argue against it.

So at that first meeting, I realized that my personality was perfect for the debate team.

I had fun and I also felt welcome there.

Así que Condoleezza decidió volver.

A medida que pasaban las semanas, ella y otros miembros del equipo comenzaron a tener debates más formales.

I thought I was going to be really nervous because formal debates were new to me.

But after I saw other people debate, I thought, “OK, I can do this.” I continued to practice with my team members, and I started to feel very confident.

On the debate team, people weren’t afraid of making mistakes, and I loved that.

It made me feel a lot more comfortable.

Mientras Condoleezza perfeccionaba sus habilidades de debate, algo más estaba sucediendo.

I was also making new friends! It’s funny, but I actually started to become closer to people while arguing with them! I was always excited to debate against a new person.

I thought, “Wow, they are really good at debating, and they’re super interesting!” And then we always talked after our debate, and we usually became friends.

Al final de su segundo año, Condoleezza había hecho varios amigos.

También se había vuelto más segura, tanto como oradora en los debates, como con su apariencia física.

Most of my life I relaxed my hair so that it looked straight and not curly.

And I wanted to have my natural hair again, so I started growing out my Afro.

It made me feel so powerful! I made my mom and my sister touch my hair all the time because I was so excited that it was growing!

La emoción de Condoleezza creció cuando una de sus ídolas fue noticia nacional.

Se trataba de Ketanji Brown Jackson, quien había asistido a su misma escuela preparatoria, después se había convertido en abogada, ¡y ahora había sido nominada como jueza, o justice, en la Corte Suprema de los Estados Unidos!

The Supreme Court is the most important court in the U.S., and Ketanji Brown Jackson was the first Black woman to join as a justice! It was amazing to see this woman of color become a part of history.

And when she was younger, she was a member of my school’s debate team! I’ve always been so proud of other Black people who do amazing things.

But it’s even more amazing to see people like Ketanji changing the world in positive ways, right now.

Condoleezza quería ser abogada, igual que Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Esto la motivó aún más para alcanzar su sueño, por lo que no solo continuó en el equipo de debate en su tercer año, ¡sino que se convirtió en vicepresidenta del club!

I was a completely different person before I joined the debate club.

It helped me make friends and meet other people who were interested in me.

It also helped me to express myself and feel more confident.

It has changed my life!

Condoleezza Alexis es la vicepresidenta del equipo de debate de Miami Palmetto High School y dirige otros clubes escolares, incluida una organización sin fines de lucro llamada Bleeding Hearts Across America, cuyo objetivo es ayudar a las personas que viven en la línea de pobreza o por debajo de ella en los Estados Unidos.

Ella espera algún día asistir a la facultad de derecho.

Nuestra primera protagonista fue Diane Peters y, desde que ingresó al glee club, su hija Hazel aprendió a tocar la guitarra y cantar como solista.

El primer acto de este episodio fue producido por Laura Tillman, una periodista y autora de la biografía “The Migrant Chef: The Life and Times of Lalo García”.

El segundo acto fue producido por Caro Rolando de Adonde Media.