I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY! That was my first drama lesson in
high school. I remember going into the class being excited to learn something
new, but it was a little out of my element. I had danced and am a vocal person,
but I always portrayed myself, rather than others. Everyone in my class was SO
much better than me at this stuff and I kind of wanted to sit back and watch.
Learn, observe and then try. Well, Mr. Ramseur had other ideas. We were to each
go on stage and say that phrase loudly. Ok – I am a LOUD person, but I was
terrified to do this! It was just a couple of words in front of people I knew,
but I kept thinking, what if I do it wrong, what if I’m not loud enough, I have
this reputation of being vocal I want to uphold, I dance, I should be able to
do this…..all of those thoughts swirling in my head. I got up on stage and did
it. It wasn’t perfect, I was told to be louder and separate the words, but I
did and strangely, that one drama lesson comes up in my mind over and over
again throughout life.
I DO have something to say – lots to say. Now, I’m not
trying to say I should vocalize every thought, but putting them together to say
SOMETHING is necessary. Staying silent because you aren’t sure if it is perfect
or if you will say it right isn’t ok. You have to try, fail, adjust to say your
something. There isn’t a perfect time to say it – you sometimes just have to go
with it. I think many of us have something to say and we don’t because of the
above reasons and more.
What sparked me writing this entry is that I read someone’s
Facebook status today that was so well put together and a sad social commentary
on how she sees the world treating her and her family based upon their
ethnicity and religion. It had to have been scary to put that out there. You
never know who of your “friends” will disregard your words and thoughts and
make it a big joke. You never know if you are inadvertently offending someone
or if someone will think less of you based on what you put out there. I would
hope that as friends that you both would care enough to understand the issue at
hand and be EMPATHETIC of others’ situations, even if you disagree.
That’s my something to say. I think that we lack empathy as
a whole. If something doesn’t affect you directly, you are less likely to
empathize with those that do. And then do something to change their situation,
no matter how small. Take the step back and really SEE people. So – I HAVE
SOMETHING TO SAY and today it’s a challenge to see the world in a different way
and understand other perspectives. Empathize with plights and help celebrate
successes. And have something to say.
