I have a lot of hang ups, as we all do. I am an introvert and I would rather pluck my eyebrows all the way out than spend more than 15 minutes in a large gathering of people sometimes. (Please don’t let this statement stop you from inviting me to parties). I never take the top of anything in a stack…newspaper, flyer, etc. You never know where it’s been. I have been known to wait in public restrooms to let other people open the door so I don’t have to touch it. See? Hang ups.

One thing I will own up to being good at, because we should all sit around sometimes and own up to what we OWN, is that I have a good working vocabulary. I pull out words that make me happy and make my friends scrunch up their noses and say, “You just said subterranean in reference to your shoes,” or something. I like using words and I like knowing them so they pop out when I need them. I didn’t get here overnight…I have messed up the context of a lot of words. A lot. I still do. Sometimes said friends will call me on it, which is fine. Usually I can call myself on it…and my favorite is when a friend chimes in with the word I DID mean to say. That means I learned, and will probably learn the correct context of the word I used incorrectly, too. It’s like adding 2 more words to the bank for the price of flubbing one!

That’s how I built it up…acquiring, mis-using, correcting…it’s messy, but it made me grow.

I was thinking this is how we should operate with a lot of things in life. Play a solo and mess it up…you’ll figure out where you went wrong or you’ll come up with something cool by accident. It’s like spewing the wrong word but using it for good. Drive the wrong road much? Sometimes I get lost in Austin…it’s not exactly a gridded town. Usually I’ll see an awesome house or even just a cute porch, and that makes the wrong turn ok.

Be fearless and throw it out there.  Don’t calculate too much, especially on the first draft.  Your brain will catch up with your desire, and when the two sync up it’s a glorious thing, rapid fire inspiration.

I won’t die or even get maimed for using the wrong word or note or turn.  This is a lovely thing.