Feel The Fear And do it Anyway

I struggled to pin down my point.  “What,” Steve asked, “is the one lesson you learned from this hellish exercise [of covering Dean Callahan’s press conference] that may inform how you teach writing?”  Steve, oh, Steve.  How can I narrow it down to just one? 

But if forced, I must say I learned yesterday to feel the fear and do it anyway. 

When I sat down to write the coverage of Callahan’s five quotes, I had never been so scared.  I confess, for a brief, fleeting moment I thought about returning home.  Understand, I’ve always fancied myself a decent writer, able to turn a phrase.  But the guidelines for journalism have changed the game, and everything I knew before about writing I have to throw out.  What once was a thesis is now an opinion; what once was a hook is now a lead.  And don’t even get me started on the different kinds of leads. 

But, for better or worse, I completed the assignment, I survived my fear, and I will survive the assault of Steve’s red pen. 

This reminds me of a quote by Haruki Murakami.  He said, “And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive.  You won’t even be sure whether the storm is really over.  But one thing is certain.  When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in.  That’s what this storm’s all about.”

Lesson learned.

Becca Hargis