Greetings!
Welcome to my personal writing portfolio (aka blog).
Introductions aren't my thing,
but I am beginning to realize how important they are. From the opening line of a book to a first date, these phrases of life create pathways to the meatier sections. They set the scene so that we are prepared for the meaning of the whole story. Maybe it’s arrogance, maybe it’s ignorance, but I would rather jump into the deep sections of life without swimming from the shallow shore. I’m not one to dip my toe. There certainly are glorious stories of those few that jump and success immediately follows, but the process of steadily acquiring skill and knowledge is equally important to courageous bursts. We learn a lot from dipping our toe – asking those that have gone before, seeking mentorship, getting humble, learning from criticism, and growing a plan. However, we will not find our life until we lose it to the depth ahead of us and gradually underneath us. Whether we dive or we dip, life is found in the water, in the doing and the flailing and the failing – where resistance is teacher and control is left on the shore.
Ack! And now I’m flailing in the deep before properly introducing myself… I’m an opera singer based in New York City, pursuing a call to express my voice through song and word. A few months ago, the call to sing met a major road bump, which I am still in the throes of navigating. This setback has brought many things into question, but most prominently, it is illuminating how fear is the biggest setback of all. Therefore, I invite you to journey with me in this small way as I wrestle with my fear and hopefully encourage you to do the same. This blog is an exercise in bringing the distance between dreams and realities closer during a very distancing time, both personally and publicly. My hope is that I will neither evade vulnerability, nor glorify it. I will dare to believe in the power of an introduction, in the toe dipping prologue at the shallow end and put some pen to paper to this dream I have to tell stories and share thoughts. The waters are unknown, but let's begin to be beginners, not forgetting the roads that led us here but committing ourselves to quiet rhythms, humble curiosity, and that holistic patience that enables us to work while we wait. To give voice to feeling stuck as someone in the middle of a problem, in the middle of their story is where I hope I’ll find my voice. May the unpolished reality of my life meet you in the middle of your journey as a very warm nod that you are not alone.
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