It’s ridiculous how intimidated I’ve been by the idea of a blog. Lately, though, for whatever reason, I’ve felt more open to trying new things. I love to write and I’ve been saying I want to write more for several years now, but I’ve been held back by this stupid perfectionism I picked up somewhere along the way (Stanford? Having an Olympic athlete in the family?) that tells me I can’t try anything if I’m not already a total expert at it.
My final push came from a recent conversation with a friend. I sheepishly admitted I was *thinking* about starting a blog but how lame I felt (I don’t have a name for it! I don’t know what I’ll write about! I don’t want anyone to read it!) and she told me a story that made me realize I was being dumb and should just blog-a-log and get over myself.
We both worked with college students after graduating and she worked with Stanford students. At a yearly conference, we held a “No Talent – Talent Show.” She reminded me that we had to call it that so that Stanford students would even participate. And she told me about an act at the last conference (that I had missed because I was v v pregnant) that was especially hilariously bad.
This kid decided that for 3 minutes, his talent would be to invite other students up on stage and have them hold his running gear. So there were people just standing, holding his shoes, and his unwashed shirts and shorts while he talked about them. That was his talent. He wanted to participate, and he had no fear. (In another act, his friend planked while telling jokes. Originally they had planned for one of them to throw cards while the other planked. No fear, you guys, no fear.)
So, I don’t know what this blog is or will be, but this is me, displaying my sweaty, unwashed, running gear.
Glimpses of Joy 