Jan. 18, 2002
I remember when my site “Another Girl at Play” was just an idea in my head. I remember thinking how absolutely brilliant it would be if I could put together a site that showcased all the creative women who have inspired me. The more I thought about it, the more I really believed in the project. However it took me a really long time to act on it because of fear.
I was afraid if I asked people, they’d all say no – even those that I had become friendly with.
When I finally became brave enough to ask a few people to participate, I got an overwhelming response. YES! They all kept saying. In fact, out of all the people I asked, only one person never responded. I’d say that’s pretty good.
I was thinking about that today, because it’s coming up to a point where I need to start sending stuff out. I’ve been holding back a little bit because when it’s an idea safe in my hands, it has the possibility to be anything. If I send it out, there is the possibility that it becomes nothing and that I get laughed at by other people.
But when I thought about the women I asked to participate and how they said yes, I learned something. I can’t (and shouldn’t) choose how they feel or choose their response. I need to give them the opportunity to decide for themselves how they want to feel. If I never asked people what they thought or sent my work out to them, that is saying that I chose their opinions for them. And the opinion that I would automatically chose would be that they thought the idea, piece of work or myself was just completely daft.
If instead I send something out, then I do not have to be responsible for their opinions. And by letting them choose how they feel about my work, maybe they’ll choose to like it.
Not everyone will like my work, not everyone will want to participate but who am I to decide who gets to and who doesn’t? I have to put my work out there and let them figure it out and get back to me. Looking at it that way makes sending out my proposals a little less daunting.