curing the(Hiccups)jitters

名称：curing the(Hiccups)jitters
内容简介：
Dear Arizona,
　　When I have to take a test or give a presentation, I get so stressed that I feel sick to my stomach. Do you have advice for people like me?
　 —Nervous in Nebraska

Dear Nervous,
　　Tests and presentations stress me out, too! And I know what you mean about getting so nervous that you feel sick. One time, I was so worked up about taking a test that I started to hiccup. First one quiet hiccup, then a louder one, then one so loud that it startled me—and everyone else in my class!

“Would you like to excuse yourself and get a drink of water?” my teacher asked.

“Yes—hic—please!” I blushed and ran out of the room to the water fountain.

But no matter how much water I gulped, I couldn’t seem to make my hiccups go away. When I finally returned to class about a hundred years later, it was almost time for lunch.

“Nice way to get out of taking the test,” Sam joked in the lunch line.

“I wasn’t faking!” I said. “I got so nervous, I just started hiccupping.”

“Really?” he said. “I didn’t know nervousness could cause hiccups.”

“Well, I guess it could have been a coincidence. But what if, from now on, every time I get nervous I start hiccupping?”

“Now that could make your science presentation extremely entertaining,” Sam said as we walked toward a table.

“Huh?” I set my lunch tray down.

“You know—the science presentations we have to give in front of the entire class this Friday?”

I panicked. “What if I end up hiccupping through the whole thing?” And suddenly, just thinking about Friday made my hiccups come back. “Thanks—hic—a lot, Sam!”

“Hold on,” said Sam. “I have a cure that gets rid of my hiccups every time.”

“What—hic—is it?”

“Just copy me.” Sam picked up his cup of water. “I have the hiccups.” He took a big gulp. “I don’t like the hiccups.” He took another big drink. “Hiccups, go away!” He finished his water. “Gone!”

I copied him word for word, gulp for gulp.

“Well?” He smiled.

I waited for the next hiccup—but it never came. “No way! It really worked.”

“Just bring water and remember those words, and you won’t have to worry about hiccupping.”

But even with my new hiccup cure, the closer it got to Friday, the more stressed out I felt. What if I got the hiccups during my presentation and the trick didn’t work? What if I forgot everything I’d studied? What if I did something embarrassing and everyone made fun of me? My mind was so filled with terrible what-ifs that by the time Thursday rolled around, I was so nervous I could barely breathe.

“You haven’t touched your food, Zonykins,” my mom said at dinner. “Are you OK?”

I shook my head. “I think I’d better stay home from school tomorrow.”

“But what about your big science presentation?” asked my dad. “Isn’t that tomorrow?”

“That’s exactly what I’m stressing about. There’s no way I can get up in front of my whole class!”

I was fairly positive my parents were going to say “Nonsense!” or “Don’t be ridiculous!”

Luckily, they both knew just how I felt. They even took turns telling stories about times they’d been nervous. And you know what? Even though their situations must have seemed pretty bad way back when they were happening, we could all laugh about them now.

My parents suggested I list everything that I thought might go wrong during my presentation. That really helped, to see all of my worries written down. Once I realized that the world wouldn’t end if I messed up or even if I hiccupped, I felt way better.

After that, I was calm enough to practice my presentation a few more times.

“Sounds good to me!” said my mom.

“And if you still feel jittery tomorrow,” my dad said, “just imagine that your audience is a bunch of cute little piggies.”

The next day, my presentation went fine—and I didn’t hiccup at all, although I had water there just in case. But I did giggle a little. (You would have laughed, too, if you’d seen that audience of cute piggies!)

So, dear Nervous, here’s my advice. Instead of focusing on how your stomach feels, try making a worry list and talking it over with someone. Also, do your best to be prepared. (After practicing so much, I actually started to look forward to my presentation!) Once the time comes, take a deep breath and use your energy to do the best job you can do.

And if you happen to mess up—though you probably won’t—you can laugh about it later!

Ciao for now,