My Speech

Speech for Toastmasters Club for Wednesday
Title: “From Ashes to Wings”

Good afternoon, fellow Toastmasters.

My name is Cathryn, and today I want to take you on a flight. Not on a plane. On wings that weren’t always there.

The Ashes.
There was a time my life looked like ashes. Mental health breakdowns. Concrete steps at the Eugene Police Department. A brown bag meal in Douglas County Jail. I wouldn’t eat. Nights when the only sound was heels echoing in a cell, and the only comfort was a police dog that kissed me on the ground.

I was ashamed of my body. Ashamed of my mind. Ashamed of nudity, of teeth issues, of wigs I wore because I had pulled out all my own hair. I rearranged rooms that weren’t mine just to feel some order. I survived on water and faith. That was my ash pile. Maybe you’ve had one too.

The Cocoon.
But ashes aren’t the end. They’re fertilizer.

I entered my cocoon stage. It didn’t look pretty. It looked like Imako teeth for a night out to see Michelle Obama. It looked like Polident cleaning stairs a property manager said I couldn’t clean. It looked like lace fronts from Vegas, vibrating toothbrushes in Roseburg, and being sent back to Eugene with the mental health team.

The cocoon is where you’re hidden. It’s where you’re healing and nobody claps for you yet. It’s where I learned the difference between “big butts” and “little butts” in cop talk, and where I learned to wear the entire armor of God — because nothing else would hold me together.

In the cocoon, I read. I prayed. I learned that even a First Lady had done nudes and still rose to greatness. That gave me permission to stop hiding. The cocoon is where shame dies and strength grows. Slowly. Quietly.

The Butterfly.
And then… wings.

Today, I stand here comfortable in my skin. My hair is long and natural now — God restored my crown. My teeth? Still a work in progress, but I’ve got CareCredit and maybe Mexico in my future. Have mercy.

I’m a morning riser. A day doer. A night closer. I don’t operate in darkness anymore because I lived there. I know the difference.

Law enforcement put me through a test that gave me visions. It showed me my whole life flash before me. And instead of breaking me, it gave me identity. Confidence. A voice.

The Ice Breaker.
So here I am. Cathryn. From the ashes. Through the cocoon. Now the butterfly.

I’m here at Toastmasters because butterflies don’t stay hidden. They take the stage. They tell the story. They remind other people in ashes or cocoons: your wings are coming.

My past isn’t my shame. It’s my testimony. And if my story gives one person in this room hope that they can rise too… then these 5 minutes were worth it.

Thank you.

Timing tip: ∼650 words = about 5 minutes at a natural pace. I need to learn to Pause after “Ashes,” “Cocoon,” and “Butterfly” to let it land.