Summer of Uncomfortability

In a summer of uncomfortability, I’ve yet again put myself out there. This week was Xtern’s “Xterns got talent and comedy night” at this week’s family dinner. The Xtern’s were given the chance to showcase our various talents surrounded by food and fellowship. I honestly don’t have many unique talents that would show up in a talent show. So, it wasn’t likely that I was going to participate.

However, I do know how to juggle well. I talked with Al Carroll from TechPoint who said even if only for a minute or two why not just give it a shot. Chris suggested that I show up and juggle flaming chainsaws to really get the crowd into it. I’m sure a lot of the other X-terns felt the same way because only 5 people ended up signing up. I had been going back and forth about it in my head for a couple days for two reasons:

1.       I might have stage fright

2.       I don’t know how to juggle things that are sharp or on fire

But anyways It just so happen that I saw Fran Kay while at work on Thursday and mentioned that I was thinking about juggling. This was apparently the push I needed to finally sign up to be in the show. Even though I was last minute I knew I wouldn’t need to prepare much anyways so why not join.

When it came time to perform I surprisingly wasn’t nervous at all. I’ve always found it weird that I can play basketball or football in front of thousands no problem but a presentation would give me an uneasy stomach. The fact that I had been running training for a while has gotten me used to being in front of an audience. The training takes place in front of a small classroom type setting, not unlike the typical college classroom.

So far I have learned a lot about the business of beLithe but I also have gained personal skills that I sought to develop this summer as well. I can agree that I have become a better communicator, a more sure speaker, and even an improved writer. To sum it up I guess I would say I’ve gained a professional confidence that I might not have had before.

I even did some research on how to juggle fire so soon I’ll have another unique talent to showcase.

Andrew