What’s stopping you? Stopping you from learning how to swim or going to grad school? What’s stopping you from paying it forward or donating blood? Stopping you from signing your kid up for baseball, karate or dance classes? We can literally come up with a million reasons not to do something but struggle to find one reason in favor of. Which is a shame. Because the con list should never be longer than our pro list when it comes to something that sparks even the slightest of interests. Putting yourself out there doesn’t mean you need to prepare yourself for failure, it means you are gaining another talent, another bullet on your unbelievable resume, another wonderful childhood memory for you kids. You don’t have to be amazing at something for it to be worthwhile. I’m a terrible painter, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy a good Wine & Canvas. I even hang the artwork up in my house afterwards. Because I’m happy with my attempt. I’m no Van Gogh, but I am a Josie.

Today I had my daughters very first dance recital. She’s in the Wiggle Worm class which is composed of kids aged 1 1/2 to 3. And because of the ages of these future stars, parents do the dance with them. To help them move along and not get stage fright. Which makes complete sense. And being a mom who looks a bit different from other parents, I was nervous. Nervous about the kid stares & the looks I would receive from other parents. I mean I was literally going to be on stage, under those bright shining lights, one leg, scarred up arm & all. And you can’t tell me no one was going to notice. But all I really considered in this decision about joining the show or not was my daughters face. How much her face lit up every single week when it was time to go to dance class. The way she opened up and held hands with the other kids when she afraid to even say hello before. How much she loves to be the star of any show (yes she’s a diva). And my decision was easy. Up on that stage I went with a little Wiggle Worm who was excited to dance with her friends in front of her Grandma’s & Aunts & baby sister. The thought of other people’s stares didn’t cross my mind until way after and that’s because my focus was more on the happy vs the scary. And that focus allowed me to make a wonderful memory today.

It’s hard to put yourself out there or try something new. And it’s even harder when you’ve gone through something very hard. Many people know your story and you catch a lot of people’s eyes. Going through life unnoticed is going to be impossible so why strive for that? Instead, be the person who donates blood after knowingly received so many units that helped you live. Be the person who double majors and then starts their own business to learn some more. Be the mom who has one leg but free hops a dance on stage with your 2 1/2 year old. Be the person who’s pro’s list is always longer than the con’s. Who doesn’t let dreams fade from view due to nerves. If you are scared because you are different, or the thing you’re interested in is different, please remember every single person is different from the next. Everyone has an “odd” talent, a quirky personality, or a “goofy” moment or two. No one is exempt. And when you look back, you’ll realize nerves aren’t the thing you remember about a moment. It was the happiness & the feelings of success that you remember. So go out there and crazy dance like you mean it, it’ll be worth it.

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