So, I had the opportunity to deliver a TEDx Talk.... (more info on that once the videos are published to YouTube.) But, the organizers asked that we submit a reflection blog describing our experience. This is mine:
The TEDx Experience is as follows: "You have been invited to give a TEDx Talk."... the email reads. You will be so overjoyed, you will laugh, you will cry, you will panic, you will feel so proud and so humbled. So congratulations on making it this far! Shortly after, a second email arrives: the logistical one. This will have a contract to fill out and sign, this ensures that you agree to being filmed and can assure the organization that your ideas worth spreading are not plagiarized! (definitely important) The other half will have a schedule attached. This will be a full schedule of expected submissions from the moment you receive it up until the moment you hit that stage! Within days you are asked to conceive a draft of your Talk's title. As the following weeks unfold, you will be submitting an outline, videos of your Talk, as well as small blogs to reflect on your journey thus far. This is where the process can become challenging... so if you're one who likes to procrastinate, this is not for you. Either way, congratulations on being a new member to the TEDx community!

A day before the big TEDx day, there is a main-stage rehearsal... and thank God for it! This is your first moment on the stage itself, in front of the big letters, on that iconic red carpet. This is your opportunity to see the chairs in the audience, feel the lights, learn how to adorn your lapel with the personal microphone, and finally: this is the opportunity to get your nerves out! This can be a very scary moment. So come prepared! I didn't expect to lose my train of thought, but it happened. Get those nerves out early. Also, this is your opportunity to witness other TEDx talkers deliver their wonderful talks, too. Sit a spell, and enjoy the moment. Cheer them on, they are just as anxious as you are! The big day is just around the corner. Get your rest. Oh, and congratulations again for making it this far along this momentous journey!

Finally, the big day arrives and the surreal becomes life.
The energy is like none other. You arrive to the building nervous, yet ready. Everything is so official, you have to catch yourself just to savor the moment! Savor it! Before it's your time on stage, you're welcomed back stage again and the mic is clipped to your shirt. It's minutes away. You hear the audience applaud as the preceding talker is exiting the stage with a smile of relief. Your heart pounds an octave lower. Your name is introduced and you hit the stage. You know your first sentence. You know what you're doing. The audience is engaged and listening. They want you to succeed too. (As I type this, I blink a small tear again.) They laugh with you. They cry with you. They celebrate your message. It is genuinely one of the most memorable moments in your life. And as fast as it has felt in all your rehearsals, it's over. You exit the stage to the sound of your own applause, it's your turn to smile with relief and wish the next speaker their luck. You join the audience again. As the day itself progresses, you can interact with audience members and other talkers. Everyone is so inspired and inspiring. They all have fantastic ideas worth spreading also. You are one of them. You are a TEDx talker now! Congratulations. You have done something so very special. This was such an amazing experience and I am so profoundly humbled to have been selected. It was so validating. It was so encouraging. This has been such a unique foundation for confidence; confidence I hardly had, but knew I needed to develop quickly. I am so happy to have had this opportunity to celebrate my perspective on forgiveness. I hope that this is a key for many future doors. But remember, this whole crazy, stressful, joyous experience started with a choice: the decision to say Yes to the TEDx application and the courage to fill it out.
You can do it. You’ve got this. See you next year!
Joe Sielski
TEDxWilmington
Class of 2016
Photo credit belongs to Joe Del Tufo and Jim Coarse
MoonLoop Photography
http://moonloopphoto.com/
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