Overcoming Glossophobia

I really hate public speaking.  I blame it on a five minute speech I was supposed to do on Colonial America in the 8th grade.  I say "supposed to'" because I think I only got about 1 minute and 34 seconds into it before I lost consciousness and hit the floor.  And to make matters worse, the assignment required us to dress up as our speech topic that day.  That's right, as if passing out in front of your 8th grade class wasn't bad enough, I did it while wearing a bonnet and an apron.  The only redeeming qualities to this event were a wonderfully compassionate teacher, and that it happened before the days of video capable smart phones and YouTube.  Thank you lack of technology!

So, to say that I hate public speaking is probably an understatement.  But, I have gotten better at it the older I have gotten.  My job kind of demands it, and lucky for me, I haven't actually passed out while speaking since that fateful day in the 8th grade. 

Which leads me to Thursday night.  Somehow I found myself on stage, filling in for our normal emcee at our weekly meeting on campus. 

                                                               (a little nervous)

But, isn't that what this year is kind of about?  Taking risks I wouldn't normally take and trying things that are outside of my comfort zone. 

And to be honest, it was actually kind of fun.  Who knew!?!?!