The Moth

I am not brave or eloquent. And I’m definitely not the kind of person to get up on a stage and tell a story at The Moth. But I am definitely a helper.

I’d been looking forward to the StorySLAM for over a month. And when I heard tonight that they needed more storytellers, I had to help. And I put my name in the hat.

I was not prepared. The theme of the night was Dazzled. Not a topic that suited me; I was just there to listen. But could I come up with something tangential to the theme if I was needed? Yes.

And so as I sat there mentally scrambling just in case I was chosen, I was called up as the second storyteller for the night.

I wish I could say it was exhilarating, but I am shy, with the type of self-consciousness that tends to hit during and after the thing much harder than it hits before.

So right now, I’m sitting in my car with my face still sunburn red, even though it’s already been three hours.

My intended story was about acceptance and being enough as is: In the beginning I didn’t feel acceptance, in the middle I found acceptance under surprising circumstances, and in the end I let go of never-enough beliefs and their reinforcement.

Except I got nervous and hurried to wrap up well before the five minute bell, sharing the point instead of the path that got me there. Gah!

But it would seem it wasn’t as abrupt as I remember; several people approached and thanked me for sharing my story and said they loved it. It was enough, and I am too.

p.s. I’d searched my phone for Moth, and instead found this beautifully round bee. It’s not a Moth, and I’m not a storyteller, but just like me, it’ll do.

AND, after sharing this, I found out there’s a spin-off story telling community back home called The Bee. Serendipitous!