See . Speak . Feel

“Infuse your life with action. Don’t wait for it to happen. Make it happen. Make your own future. Make your own hope. Make your own love.” – Bradley Whitford

They always say we should take risks. Act on faith and leap. Do ballsy things to produce impactful significance. But doing so requires a level of confidence. Or a hefty load of guts that doesn’t seem to always be present. Actually it appears during the initial idea stage, during the planning portion too, but for a brief moment, the longest brief moment ever experienced, it vanishes only to come reappear during execution.

This weekend, Twenties Unscripted hosted it’s second annual See. Speak. Feel showcase consisting of 4 musical performances, 9 spoken word artists, 2 prose readings, a live painter, and art showcased from 6 different artists. Simply put: It was a night filled with magic from creatives that exude the utmost faith and own an admirable vulnerability.

[Tweet “”You don’t know you have the gumption to sign up for a showcase until you try.” – Roconia”]

When I signed up to share a blog post, I thought, “Hey Yetti, get this off your social anxiety list.” and that was that. But as the weeks went by, I was asked to submit a bio, reminded to submit a picture too, and then lastly, I had to select what I was going to read. I think at that point it became more than just a bucket list item. It was a reading. It was storytelling in another form. It was me being vulnerable, but not behind my computer screen, but in front of a live audience, and that was huge.

I chose to read “I Don’t Believe In Fairytales, But I Believe In Love”, because in order to read this piece, I would need the same kind of courage it took for me to write and post it in the first place. I was assured that this showcase had a loving audience, and that the aura was accepting and encouraging. And it was exactly that, because when I took the stage and read behind my phone, stumbled and lost my place as nerves consumed me, that black box theatre, filled with only four people I knew personally, fed me an energy that forced me to get through that reading.

[Tweet “”It will not all be right and perfect. But, it will be beautiful.” – Tyece”]

I don’t mean to sound repetitive, I am fully aware my last few posts have been centered upon faith. But I’m at a place in life that’s requiring so much of this faith to get me to the next step. And Saturday was the next step. It was all the cliche quotes of believing in myself, surrounding myself with like minded people, and creating and participating in something beautiful despite the sweat beads forming along my nose. It was me saying “Fuck Social Anxiety” again, with Tass, Erica and Ty to hold my hand as I did so. It was me being my biggest fan, something I often forget to do. But most of all, it was me doing more than seeing and speaking faith. I felt it.