THE GUT BUSTER

BELIEF = CONFIDENCE WHICH CAN GIVE A WHOLE NEW VIEW

Normally Tuesdays are saved for GRAFFITI WALL coverage, sharing an interview with you from a fantabulous new writer or illustrator. I've decided to postpone that until tomorrow when I'll post Kiersten White's interview. Make sure you come back to visit. She's wonderful. But for today, I decided to give you something different, kind of full circle.


I'm sure some of you have had that ...Uh, I think that was supposed to happen...feeling, or maybe ...Yeah, I think I was supposed to hear that...or even see that.

Well, It happened to me the other day and I just have to share it with you. 


I'm walking through our main family room towards the mudroom on my way out to an appointment. On my way, I pass two of my boys lounging on the couch watching some lame teeny bopper show. For some unknown reason I decide to stop and watch for a minute. 


There's this girl on TV acting out a scene in front of her drama class at school. She's dressed in some ridiculous eighteenth-century outfit and wearing a poorly fashioned pair of rimmed eyeglasses, probably referred to as spectacles. She's reciting some poem about a bird--actually a Cockatoo.

The bird has been trained to help her act out the poem. The girl put a ton of effort into this project and it seems she's doing a pretty good job. The bird does everything she asks and she finishes with a classic ending. The class giggles and sniggers a bit, and the teacher stands up from the back of the room.

The girl lifts her arms up saying, "So, how'd I do?"

Teacher's response, "You failed."

The girl freaks. She can't understand why she failed and proceeds with a laundry list of reason why her hard work has value. She finalizes by saying, "I don't care what you or anyone else thinks. I worked hard and this is darn good!"

The teacher and the students clap.

Of course the girl is confused, so the teacher approaches gingerly; the girl is really upset.

He says, "You passed the bird test."

She questions, "Huh?"

"Darla (just to use a female name), the purpose of this exercise was to teach a drama student to TRUST in his or her own instincts and to BELIEVE in one's gut. A true artist is not someone who cares what he or she or he thinks; but the true artist is the one who PLEASES him or herself and those who happen to appreciate it."

DING, DING, DING!! 

Epiphany moment...for that character and for me. 

As a dancer--I've mentioned it briefly in the past; maybe eventually I'll share how close the prospect of making it in New York really was for me, but not now--I never once went to a performance on stage worried. Never ever did I second guess myself. WHY? Because I did it for me. AND ME ALONE. Not in a conceded way but because it was my passion.

WRITING is now my passion.

I want to thank all of you who visited and posted comments on my Freak Out Friday post. You were all awesome.

(My husband was able to take today off and with the kids on school vacation, I've decided to spend a little time with them. I'll check in later, though, to respond to your comments. I just love your comments. Thanks again.)