Challenge #15

Last night I sat by William, a man who's been in my seminar since the beginning, who I've never conversed with before. We partnered up, doing an exercise that deals with our passions and not letting criticism or negative judgments interfere. It was uncomfortable at first, but during the second round, I really FELT my passion come forth...it was real, it was pure, it was natural. In that moment, I believed in my abilities, my talent...I believed in myself.

My passion is writing. I love to write! I enjoy it so much that sometimes I have a hard time leaving my house. When I do, I'm excited to come home to get back on my computer and start writing again. I have so many ideas that run through my head, I literally have to bring my journal or something to write on everywhere I go. I have written on several topics, sharing my stories and experiences, trying to inspire people to "live" life, not "survive" it. I also have been writing politically, not here, but I do take a big interest in politics which leads me to write some of the things that I do. Some of it is it full of sarcasm and some of it includes my true feelings. I love to write because it's a part of me, it comes from within, and nobody can take it away. I hold all the power and that in itself is a gift, a gift that I've searched and longed for, a gift that I've finally found.

Challenge #15: William turned to me during a break and asked what I got out of the seminar. I told him what I got was writing. It encouraged me to embrace my creativity, which turned into words, inspiration, and guidance for my own self-discovery. He explained that he used to be a Landmark seminar leader for many years and he could see the power behind my passion, that I was ready to explode. He then proceeds to ask if I would be willing to create a new possibility with my writing. He said, "Next Thursday, for our last seminar, I want to hear what you've done to make your writing a reality. I want you to go to the unknown and produce something that would be significant to you, your life, and your writing." I was floored, confused, and extremely flattered. I agreed, got excited, but then didn't know what to do next. Until I spoke to Jill anyway...

Jill was intrigued by this conversation. She began throwing out ideas, wondering how I should approach it. We talked about what my interests are, what I feel good about and it lead to two things: life and politics. She then threw out the idea of writing a diary on the Daily Kos, a political blog that has an average of 490,261 readers a day. The way it works is anybody can write a diary. If people like it, they recommend or vote on it. If it gets a lot of attention, the diary will make it to the top and sometimes if it's really good, to the main part of the blog.

For my challenge, I am going to write a diary. I am going to combine life and politics together and see if people will bite. Who knows, maybe they'll like what I have to say...maybe I will be a top diary. If not, it's okay because at least I tried. I'll let you know when I post it, so you can see what happens for yourself.