In the middle of 8th grade, I was struggling to find resources that would help me learn Lincoln-Douglas debate. After viewing the 2019 NSDA final round, watching random handy LD tutorial videos on YouTube, and cutting my first few cards on a Google Doc, I stumbled across the Forensics discord server. Little did I know that this heralded perhaps the most important point in my speech & debate career.

In the few weeks I'd been a part of the server, I had learned all about theory, counterplans, and the wiki. I found other debaters like me who were looking for practice rounds, and I bugged the server moderators to judge our debates. The people I met were genuine, friendly, constructive, and inclusive. After mentioning that I had mostly been a congress debater up to that point, someone sent me an invite to the Congress discord server.

The cycle repeats - I asked people for ideas on legislation I have to debate and begged experienced debaters to review and critique my speeches. At some point, two experienced and accomplished debaters hosted a free lecture on crystallization speeches. I found it fascinating. Applying what I learned from that lecture, I competed in the online 2021 Middle School Tournament of Champions in congressional debate, and was overjoyed to win 2nd place.

In the coming summer, I participated in the Online Debate Institute, a free LD camp that taught me the basics of progressive Lincoln-Douglas debate. I received mentorship from generous and talented congress debaters, which shaped both the way I debate and my outlook on debate. Perhaps mostly importantly, I started CrowdPrep Institute with some friends I had met with a shared passion for speech & debate. That would go on to become Equality in Forensics.

Years later, I would get more out of speech & debate than I could have imagined in my wildest dreams. Along my journey, I have to thank dozens if not hundreds of people who have extended me mentorship, contacted me about opportunities, and offered me advice. Without them, I truly couldn't have made it to the final rounds of tournaments like NSDA and TOC.

This article is about community. Having a community to back your endeavors, help you find new opportunities, and empathize with your background is a tremendous privilege - a privilege without a price tag.