Public Speaking....

Jerry Seinfield said that the number one worst fear among Americans is public speaking; number two is dying. This means that if you had to be at a funeral, you would rather be in the coffin than giving the eulogy.

There is something truely terrifying about reading something that you wrote in front of other people. I have no problem standing in front of a classroom of eighty-something high school students and threaten to take away there breaks for forever if they don't shut up. And I don't even mind the suprise principal sit-in evaluations while I am teaching a class on compound-complex sentences with adjective clauses and gerund phrases. I can even handle, with a fair amount of composure, telling a co-worker that they need to do their job. Believe it or not, I can hold my own when an abrassive and irate parent wants to talk to me about their baby's grade in such-and-such a class. But when it comes to reading a piece of writing that I wrote, I totally freak out.

Tonight in class I shared a vingette that I wrote. (Keep in mind that "class" consists of 6 people including the teacher) My heart was pounding, my armpits were sweating profusely, and my voice was shakey. After it was all over, we had a short break, and I went into the bathroom to see that my neck and chest were covered in viscious red splotches. Reading a 600 word short story literally stressed me out to the point of heart palpitations and hives.

I guess its just the feeling of thinking "What if they dont like it? What if they don't get it? What if they think I am a weirdo? ...I should just stop right now."

But everything turned out okay in the end. I feel it was a success. Everyone liked it and I got some very positive feedback. So if anyone wants to critique it and tell me what you think--I would love it. Just don't ask me to read it to you.