I don’t remember a lot about high school.  It is a defense mechanism, I am sure.  After all, my dad passed away when I was fourteen. My childhood was lost in a moment. I had no patience for teenage angst and drama. I stopped being able to relate to my friends.  After all, I was dealing with life changing issues.  And I wasn’t exactly coping to well.

Growing up, I was always a quiet and shy girl.  Somehow I managed to come out of my shell when I turned twelve.  But when my dad passed away, I reverted. I barely spoke. I kept to myself.

Public speaking was a required class.  The thought of it made my stomach flip.  It was a nightmare, or so I thought.

All these years later, unlike so much from that period of time, I remember every inch of the classroom. I remember my teacher too.  He was a man, whose claim to fame was teaching Howard Stern.  I don’t think he taught one class without reminding us of that little tidbit.  He was a hard ass too.  He didn’t have much patience.  I dreaded my first speech…

But then something strange happened.  I got up there and discovered that the reality wasn’t as bad as my imagination expected. Even though my voice was probably no more than a whisper,  I felt comfortable. I realized I could speak in front of people.  I also realized I liked it.

The shy and quiet girl I once was is now gone.  I tell people about her, and they don’t usually believe me.  And over the years, I have had to speak in front of groups of people.  Sometimes it was a prepared speech. Other times, it was on the fly.  Regardless, I no longer have any fear. I am comfortable. I love it.

When I the opportunity presented itself to do a book reading and singing at Barnes and Noble I jumped at it!  It was a dream come true to read an excerpt of Dangled Carat at the large bookstore.

I was thrilled to see how many people turned out for me, Meredith Schorr and Jennifer Gracen.

We took turns reading excerpts of our books as well as discussing them.  The crowd was great!  They asked amazing questions.

It was such a high reading, or should I say acting out my story, especially when the crowd laughed at the right parts.  I couldn’t help think about that shy and quiet girl I once was.  I knew in that moment, during my five minutes of fame, she was proud of me.

 
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbEN9ZexLi0
Public speaking… do you love it or hate it?