"HIIIIII YAAAAHHHH!!!"

   Last week, I took a step toward my goal.  I was approached by a sorority on campus (of which a lot of my friends are members) to lead a self-defense seminar for young women.  It was a major success.  My mother and brother (also martial artists) supported me to the fullest and gave 100% effort while assisting me with the class.  My weekly goal was to enlighten at least one individual about the martial arts and make them a tad more comfortable while walking the streets in today's society.  By the simple fact that I received raved reviews and a number of women who were interested in furthering their martial arts training, I would venture to say that I accomplished the task at hand.  I received countless number of text messages after the event, telling me how great I had done.  People seemed to really enjoy the experience and were very receptive to trying new things.  In fact, even I didn't go to sleep until 3 that morning because I was on  natural "high" from how awesome it was.

   But, it wasn't like this in the beginning.  Surprisingly, I was shaking in my boots with stage fright.  I teach all the time, but this time was different.  For the first time in a long time, I was nervous about teaching.  I feared that the women would not like nor appreciate what was being given.  I feared they would laugh when they saw things foreign to them.  I really wanted to impress these women, and I began to panic.  I started sweating and my voice started to shake when I spoke.  My mind was scrambling and I was out of sorts.  Although I teach young children and some adults three times a week during the school year and everyday over the summer, there are personal reasons as to why this occasion in particular was so different.  

   However, I was eventually able to overcome this fear.  I began to suppress all of the negative things I was thinking about and replaced them with the positive thoughts of endless possibilities and opportunities that could come from the experience.  I said to myself that if I just grabbed the attention of one person, my job was done.  All in all, the event was not perfect, but no one else could have done a better job if I am allowed to toot my own horn (TOOT!!! TOOT!!!)

IT WAS AMAZING!!!