Well, so I thought…

Writing poems is one thing, they are often personal or private. Once again, ask Janet as she knows me from high school, putting myself out there was not my thing. I began to put the poems out on the blog and was encouraged to put them on TikTok as well.

Now we all know this is the next level, right? It’s past public speaking and past writing or posting poems. Reading a poem or saying it on TikTok is even more scary, for me anyway… So as this hurdle came, I came up with a different concept for myself and shot the content in an all-black background just to make it a bit more dramatic. I had to ask my team how to achieve this. I am still struggling with the whole setup. It’s going to take a bit of time to perfect it, but it will come.

For Now, it Seems Fine.

The first time I posted TikTok videos, I always put the volume right down so I would not hear my voice. I used to cringe at the sound of my voice. Now I am putting poems out there. I’ve come a long way, but it is still a bit hard.

The next hurdle came when followers asked me to go talk to individuals on the beach. While I did manage to walk up to total strangers and interview them, I had to think. Gathering the courage to talk to strangers is certainly not easy. But then I began to weigh the idea of strangers vs. the poetry. They were about the same, but I ranked the poetry online higher, so the interviews became easier. I suppose that they are equally scary and one takes baby steps to achieve all this so it can be possible. Many people think that the poems are that of a broken heart or past heartache. But in fact, not all are. Some yes and some are simple lines I may hear in a movie and I build on them. Some are things I think up while I ride along a country road or on the beach. Sometimes I am in the mood to write and shit comes out.

Depends On the Mood

Though I know that I can do all of the above, at times I am not in the right mood to accept the challenge. This comes to giveaways as well as talking to strangers or the poems on TikTok. It seems that being in the mood is a bit like feeling good enough to carry out a mission. It’s like ok we gotta do this. Which is how I feel about TikTok Live at times. Like a radio host getting ready for a show, it’s about getting off your ass and doing it.

This is the same thing for content at times and while it is a struggle to create new things every day it is a challenge that I have chosen to accept and have not failed often. There are times when we need a break. Sometimes I get a few different types of content done and do a costume change, so I have some stock. However, like the blog, things catch up with me at times.

Putting yourself out there is not easy. However, with enough time and patience, plus a little bit of a kick in the ass, anything is possible. I am enjoying the comments on the poems and how they can and do touch people. That alone makes it worthwhile.