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🎤 Ctrl + Alt + Me

Toastmasters Pathways – Level 1, Project 2: Writing a Speech with Purpose

🎯 Project Objectives​

  • Write and deliver a speech that clearly conveys a purpose.
  • Connect with the audience using a focused message.
  • Speak for 5 to 7 minutes.

🗣️ Speech Script​

[Walk slowly to the chair at center stage. Sit. Pause.]

On a romantic June morning in 1999, a boy sat on the first bench in his fourth-grade classroom. His heart beating quickly. Eyes fixated on the door. Little did he know that my life was about to change forever.

Hello Toastmasters and guests,
That boy… was me.
And the person I was waiting for?
Ms. Lavanya.

She walked in — lemon-yellow saree, radiating grace and coolness.
She was the human version of an Apple computer.

That day, she took us to the computer lab — a silicon sanctuary.
We removed our shoes before entering, as if stepping into a temple.
CPUs hummed softly. Monitors glowed — some with lions wallpaper, some with hypnotic screensavers.

My favorite?
Clippy — that quirky animated assistant who waved like he knew we were new.

She introduced us to LOGO.
My first program drew a perfect square — in just 8 lines.

That evening, I ran home and declared:

“Appa, I want to become a computer engineer.”

He smiled, eyes filled with pride.

⏩ Fast forward 10 years…​

Same me.
Same chair.
But this time… I wasn’t smiling.

I didn’t get a CSE seat.
I was stuck in ECE — a degree that felt like a nightmare.

Fourier transforms flew past me.
Greek letters attacked me — alpha, beta, gamma — which gave me trauma.
Then came DSP — Don't Stop Praying or Fail.

But there was one escape hatch: the library.
That’s where I found my tribe — computer science books.
No labs. No permissions. Just me, a system, and curiosity.

I devoured Linux manuals.
I topped C++.

On placement day, I didn’t have high scores.
But I had skills.

I impressed my interviewer with Object-Oriented Programming —
Not because I was coached — but because I was self-taught.

Against the odds,
I got the job.

💻 Life.exe Begins​

Office work ended in 4 hours. Weekends were free.

I installed:

  • toastmasters.exe
  • reading-challenges.exe
  • fitness-freak.exe

Life felt like a newly setup high-performance computer.

🧠 Then came the bloatware…​

By 2024, I found myself back on the chair —
Not looking at doors, but staring at the ceiling.
Looking for answers from the creator God himself.

My life? Slowed down by too many background processes.

Installed over time:

  • father_installed/responsibility.exe
  • marriage/sweet-troubles.exe
  • relatives/malwares.exe
  • office/high-work-low-reward.exe
  • gov/income-tax.exe
  • society/home-loan.exe

Each app fighting for my time, energy, and peace of mind.

⚠️ The Wake-Up Call​

I realized something dangerous had happened.
I was trained for a job.
I built my identity around it.
And now, AI wants that job.

I was no longer in control.

So I made a choice.
Not an easy one.
But a necessary one.

🔁 Ctrl + Alt + Me​

  • Ctrl — or Command. If AI is a threat, command it.
    Like I used AI to help with this speech.
  • Alt — Find alternate paths. Business, freelancing, consulting — not easy, but possible.
  • Me — Because no software update can fix your life… unless you initiate the reboot.

🌄 Now…​

Today, I sit on the same chair.
But this time,
I’m not stuck.
I’m not staring at the ceiling.

I’m staring at the horizon.
And just like that square on a black screen in 1999,
I’m once again drawing the shape of my future.

Thank you.