Escaping My Comfort Zone: My First Public ... - Elevator Noise

When I was first asked to speak on a girl empowerment panel at Belmont Charter School, honestly, I was a little nervous. ?It?s easy for me to sit at home at write nice ?motivationals? -but outside of random class presentations, I have NO ?real? experience speaking in front of a crowd. I knew this experience would definitely force me out of my comfort zone? but if you never try, how will you ever know what you?re capable of, right? So I accepted the challenge and decided to speak. As my mom would say,??sometimes you gotta go balls out!?

When I sat down on the panel, I was overwhelmed with nervousness. [I'm actually laughing at myself now, but it wasn't so funny then.] I thought to myself, ?what the heck did I get myself into?!? I was in the auditorium with about 50 girls staring at me waiting to hear something profound. *No Pressure* There were three other panelist, but of course, as fate would have it, I was given the microphone FIRST (-_-). After stumbling over a few words in the beginning (lol), I got myself together and just spoke from my heart?

I realized that in the end, it wasn?t about me. It was about the benefit of the girls. So I decided to take full advantage of the opportunity?

Below are some of the questions that were asked on the panel. The responses aren?t verbatim; just a roundabout of how I felt/feel?

How do you define success?

Me: For me, happiness = success. Being able to do what you love is the ultimate success.

What are some of the things you do to keep yourself motivated and driven to accomplish your goals? Who Inspires you?

Me: I read feedback from my readers. Whenever I need motivation or feel discouraged, I always refer to the testimonials page on my blog. Reading the comments from my readers show me that what I?m doing is actually making a difference. There are people who really benefit from my blog. For instance, yesterday someone commented my facebook and said, ?Keep pushing on Jas your determination is contagious. People like you keep me going.? What kind of person would I be if I stopped now?

What do you see as the barriers or main challenges that affect our young ladies today?

Me: Themselves. A lot of times YOU are your biggest barrier. Personally, the biggest challenge I faced was learning to get out of my own way. When I first started college, I actually failed my first two writing classes. ?Not because I was a bad writer, but because I really didn?t believe in myself. I just hated writing because I thought I sucked. I?d cringe at the thought of a writing assignment. It wasn?t until I started replacing my negative thoughts with the ?I can do it? mindset, that I started to make forward progress. Basically, what I?m trying to say is that believing in yourself goes a long way. Learn to get out of your own way and the sky is the limit?

Who are the people in your life that you surround yourself with to help keep you on track, or just happy and smiling ?

Me: *I actually began to cry because my family was in the audience ? I?m VERY sensitive* My family is really my biggest support system. They?re always cheering me on, encouraging me to do better. I?m forever grateful and blessed to have genuine people like them in my life.

How do you deal with stress and tough times?

Me: I cry. There?s nothing wrong with crying. I like to let it all out ? get it out of my system. I feel bad for myself for a minute, but releasing all of that tension and energy really makes a difference for me. Letting it all out helps me to refocus.

Any final words of advice?

Me: My biggest piece of advice would be ?Do what you can with what you have.? From my experience, I see that a lot of people are afraid to follow their dreams because of financial reasons. ?- But if you really want it bad enough, you?ll figure out a way to make it happen. You?ll get creative. If you want to go to college, but you can?t afford it?you brainstorm ways to make it happen. There?s loans, grants, scholarships, fundraising, sponsors, etc. Again, if you want it bad enough, there?s nothing that can stand in your way. Where there?s a will, there?s a way?. I started ElevatorNoise.com with $30 hosting, a free wordpress design, and just my thoughts.

?-

The most rewarding part of the event: Afterwards a girl walked up to me and said, ?Hi, my name is Jasmine and I?m sensitive too. When you cried, I cried. ?Can we go out for ice cream one day?? Just the fact that she reached out and actually connected with me and what I had to say really meant a lot to me?

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To view the rest of the photos from the event, visit my Facebook page HERE

Source: http://www.elevatornoise.com/?p=1441

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