Dipping My Toes

I participated in my first public reading last week, for the ongoing Promising Series at the Different Light book store.

I was extremely nervous while the artist before me was reading her material!
I had trouble relaxing into it, at first, but eventually I felt my groove. So much for years of performing, although this felt different enough. Not only was I participating with published writers, as a fledgling writer, there were also a few established writers in the small audience.

And yet, I relish the fact that I get to be a beginner again. I have very youthful, optimistic, and excited feelings about my writing goals. I feel very much like I did more than twenty years ago when I had first been an aspiring dancer.

I get a do-over!

Also in attendance were two classmates from the writing course I had taken last fall, Andrew B. and Glen H. Normally, having people that I know in a small audience is what makes me nervous, versus performing for a huge audience of anonymous people I'll never see again. But I was happy and relaxed about their presence, and I was grateful for their support.

As we were leaving, I told the reading's coordinator, Noël Alumit, that I felt good about the evening. The published writers had been friendly and approachable. And I left feeling eager to participate in future readings. Most importantly, being a part of the reading only reinforced my resolve to work on my writing goals for this year.

I have a lot of work ahead of me, and life is good!