I never dodged reading out loud in class. I was praying the teacher would pick the longest paragraph so I could show off my vocabulary and pronunciation. 😭😭
By the virtue of loving someone, you incur a responsibility: to give them the best of yourself and summon forth the best within them. Make their becoming your concern. Strengthen them, and help them transcend what they are, for in their elevation, you too ...
getting into an artist and finding out they JUST played a show near you and have now wrapped up that tour is the worst thing that can happen to you as a music enjoyer
Reading a book in public is only performative to people that don’t read books. To a reader, every waiting room, park bench, train carriage, airport gate, and café table is another potential chapter.
You already chose yourself. You already gave yourself permission to live, love, express, and experience life in a way that feels and is authentic to your soul. And now you get to see who naturally aligns with the life you're creating.
Have an alternative plan. Something in reserve. Money. Information. Social goodwill. If you operate at full exposure all the time, you will be devastated when conditions change. Build reserves by calculating for worse conditions, because fortune will smack you once in a while.