Being or Having - Leila Lucas

The following is a transcript of a speech delivered at the Lycée Concours D'eloquence, which took place on February 5, 2026. It won the People's Choice and Best Performance awards.

Welcome to the time store, come one, come all! One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish, wide, thin, up, down, spinning in circles or flat on the ground! We’re your one stop destination for predestination, your little slice of reason – with a capital R – that separates nothing from nothing, heaven from hell, salvation from damnation and a rip off from a bargain. That’s right folks, here at the time store, we’ve got the best prices! No morals? No fear! We’ll give you a full head of ethics for only $99.99 pause billion years in purgatory! Such a steal we can’t believe our eyes! Get it before it's gone for good!

Faced with an impossible problem? We’ll solve it lickety split, free of charge. All we ask is that you stay a while! Partake in our conveniently located cache of curiosities, all here, at the intersection of where pigs fly and when hell freezes over. You’ve taken planes, trains, and automobiles all to get you to our tantalizing box of temporal treasures. We're so lucky to have you. We've got your life, death, graduation, birth, divorce, four weddings, and a funeral all right here. And, of course, all the time in the world. We mustn’t waste a moment, it’ll be so much fun. Allow me to show you Exhibit No. 1.

A beggar and a billionaire walk down the street. The former is hungry, seeking something to eat. He has neither family, nor money, nor home, just the clothes on his back – he wanders alone. The billionaire is powerful, greedy, and proud. He has everything that he ever needs. His empire built upon the money he stole, he sneers at the man crouched there ‘neath his feet. The beggar stops the billionaire, looks him in the eye and asks please sir, could you spare a dime? Hah! The man halts, then sneers, then scoffs. No, he taunts, absolutely not. The beggar lays back, crestfallen and weary. Surely you could, I’d appreciate it dearly. Being human means we have love for the cursed. I’ve been forsaken by all – I’m at my worst. Please, dear sir, please spare a dime. Please be a human, it's your time to shine. The billionaire hikes up his slacks and looks down, then empties his mouth of its spit – down to the ground. We cut all the money, and healthcare of course! ‘Cause money is happiness, money’s the source. We make an empire as tall as the sky, and go clip the wings of birds who wish to fly. So no, for the last time, I will not help you. Goodbye, farewell, and god save you. 

Being or having. To have or to be. That man was a human, but had no humanity. Be the change that you want to see. But to be the change, you have to have the means. And to have the means, you have to be someone who is, which is hard enough, but you get the gist. So be the change, but only if you are. If you aren't, you won’t get very far. So let’s change the subject, let's turn the page. How much time do I have left on this stage? Maintain the narrative structure — any fracture, any factor that makes us arrive at a juncture prompts us to conjecture about the nature of our culture. Have patience, learn lessons, try your hardest, be true. The time store will still be here for you.

What say you, I’ll cut you a deal. Leave with all the time you can steal, enough for a meal or two or ten, enough to feed a million men. Take what you can. Time, of course, waits for no man. Heed my warning, traveller dear. Don’t waste your time living in fear. I don’t want to stop now, I have too much to say — but there’s too much at stake, and I am running late. I suppose it’s my fate to partake in the beautiful madness of all that is real and all that is fake. So I’ll cut it short now, I must, I suppose. Your time at the time store has come to a close. Goodbye, farewell, but this isn’t goodbye – the day will come when the bell does chime. One day you’ll be at the time store for certain. But now, it's time to close the curtain. I’ll see you soon. Thank you.