Reverb 10 Prompt (from Molly O’Neill): What central story is at the core of you, and how do you share it with the world? (Bonus: Consider your reflections from this month. Look through them to discover a thread you may not have noticed until today.)
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Had to get that out.
I don’t do well with endings. I remember watching Grease with my family back in the early 80’s. After the final cheesy scene (when John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John go flying off into the sky as the cast sings “We go together”) and the credits began to roll, I found myself holding back tears. Even in a light-hearted musical, I just couldn’t stand the feeling of “it’s over” or “goodbye”. I know, I know… There’s a thing called “Google Reader” that can keep us all in touch if we’re so inclined. Still, I find myself already missing this month of discovery. And while it’s true I discovered a few worthwhile things about myself, what I valued most was discovering you all. Yes, this is going to be sappy and sentimental. I told you about Grease, right?
Glancing back over my posts, it’s immediately clear to me that the core of my Reverb 10 experience in not to be found in my responses to the prompts. Maybe there’s a central story threading through them that captures my year. I’m sure there is. But today I’m more interested in reflecting on the core story of this past month, which has been all about you, and in order to do that I need to read between the lines, and I need to recall your blog posts, and our exchanges via comments and tweets. While I did try to invest the very highest quality attention I had available to respond to the prompts, it was a real struggle most of the time. Rarely did I feel myself writing straight from the heart. Some of this had to do with time and energy constraints. A lot of it had to do with the fact that much has weighed on my heart this month (and this year) that I simply couldn’t write about publicly. Whereas posting was often a struggle, commenting on your posts and responding to comments was pure joy. That’s where my most heartfelt writing can be found, and that’s where my core Reverb 10 story is written. Connection. Community. Friendship. Support. Togetherness. Love. Told ya it was gonna get sappy!
So many memorable chapters, delightful discoveries, precious moments. Like when Emma tweeted that my very first post moved her to tears. Like discovering Kim’s magnificent writing and that warm, cozy feeling I felt each day checking into her blog. Like that first week, when I nervously posted a video/song I had made earlier in the year, and Tizz dropped by to say she thought is was wonderful. Like all those wonderful posts Tizz herself wrote with such fire, wit, humor, and her positively uncanny combination of vulnerability and bad-ass flair. Like Shannon’s constant, unwavering support throughout the entire month, and her own sometimes hilarious, sometimes courageous, always awesome, daily posts. Or when Stereo appeared in my comments announcing “Oh my, we’re going to be friends.” And she was right, and it’s been an honor and a privilege. Like Mrs. Mediocrity’s daily poetry, which nourished my soul. Like the wonderfully refreshing honesty, authenticity, and absolute lack of pretense in everything Katie posted throughout the month. The genuine sweetness of her writing voice, like that of the buoyant, kind-hearted Aba, fills me with hope for the future of humanity. And the vulnerable, moving, open-hearted responses and supportive comments of Emily and Alana. Patti’s down-to-earth, laugh-out-loud, nod-your-head-and-say-hell-yes daily doses of wit and wisdom. Like when I discovered the Little Yawps blog, nearly falling out of my chair as she described the joys of the perfect poop. Like when I nearly fell out of my chair every day after that from the sheer awesomeness of her writing. Like when I totally lost track of Sam, my very first commenter, only to reconnect weeks later, just in time to read about the heart-wrenching moment he shared with his daughter about the realness of Santa. And how about when Brooke shared her elation about how her Heal With a Meal project had caught on and touched lives. And then there’s Rebecca. The way she somehow managed to infuse every post, every comment, every response to a comment, every tweet — every word, truly– with a sense of warmth, grace, and beauty.
I’m sure I can’t recall every significant exchange, because they were all significant, to me (and because my memory isn’t that great). The core story, the heart of the matter, for me, this month, is there in those moments. It IS those moments. The thread I discovered today, after taking the entire experience to heart, is this mysterious, magical process that brought us together. Again, I must tip my hat and then bow deeply to Gwen Bell, Cali Harris, and Kaileen Elise for making this whole thing happen. They created the space, and then graciously invited us all in. Most of you I discovered through a series of seemingly random events. You happened to tweet your response a few minutes before or after mine. I noticed you commenting regularly on a blog I really liked. How is it that I can feel like I know you, that I can actually care about you, when I’ve never even seen you, heard your voice, when this is all just zeroes and ones and blips and bloops on a screen…?
Must be magic.
Thank you, and Happy New Year!
We are all just kindling to your core story. Wait and see. It’s a privilege to have met you via #reverb10. Happy 2011.
How the bloody heck did I miss all these people you mention?
Even after only stumbling by yesterday, I am glad that I did. Your unabashed joy in this process is palpable.
Happy New Year!
This post made my soul purr. And I think I have to check out all the people you mentioned! (well, the one’s I haven’t already).
Happy New Year! See you around in Google Reader. :)
I actually choked up. This is harder than I thought it would be but I’m comforted because I know that a couple days from now (or whenever you write your next post) I’ll be back and that 2011 will be a year where we read more and learn more about the people we met in reverb10. Happy New Year, Bob – it’s been a pleasure and will continue to be so ;)
I love how you wove us all together. I also love how you shared your fear of performing in public and then posted a video of you singing a song you had written. We all became more courageous by doing this challenge together.
I’m also adding you to my Reader. I have to admit in my secret heart of hearts, I’d love to have a reverbio reunion where we can all meet up in person–even though I’m afraid to show my face, which is ridiculous because I feel that I’ve already shown my heart. Well, some of it anyway.
I could not agree more with your sentiments. Seems reverb10 has given back to both of us much more than we ever imagined. Thank you for your friendship. YOu have a heart of gold. I treasure your kind words and so look forward to sharing more in 2011.
Hello new year! :)
you rock. i hope you know that you were my favorite reverb10 poster (ok ok, maybe a tie between you and stereo), and i fully intend on keeping you as a blog i read religiously. i fell off the boat toward the end of reverb10, but i read everything you wrote! :)
thanks for the shout out.
Thank you so much, Bob, for the incredibly kind words about my writing AND for being part of my Reverb10. I would not have travelled so far without the encouragement and kindness and friendship you and a few other incredibly faithful readers. It has been a wonderful month, and I look forward to reading many more of your posts and tweets in 2011. ‘…zeroes and ones and blips and bloops on a screen’ = ‘Magic’? Absolutely!
@MDTaz: Thanks! Happy 2011 to you! I look forward to reading more of your blog.
@Mark: Happy New Year to you! I’m sure I missed many, many, great folks this month. Once I connected with a dozen or so, I couldn’t make time for any more. Even though R10 is over, I’m sure I’ll make at least a few more new connections.
@Aba: Well, that’s awesome. So good to have connected with you.
@Stereo: The pleasure has been mine. So looking forward to getting to know you better in 2011.
@Patti: I would love to meet you all in person, although I share your fears that I wouldn’t live up to whatever web persona I’ve created. Who knows what the year will bring…
@Shannon: Thanks, Happy New Year, and I’ll definitely be seeing you around. And no no no… YOU have the heart of gold! :o)
@Tizz: Thanks! I feel honored to have you as a reader. Yours was the first R10 blog to hook me, and from there I knew this thing was gonna be great. I’m looking forward to what you’ll share next.
@Rebecca: I’ve treasured everything you shared this month and I’ll happily be visiting you often as the year rolls on.
I got WAY behind on my blog reading and I’m sure I will never make it through all the great posts I missed. But I am really glad I made it to this one. Thank you for the shout out for my little pet project. Means a lot to me.
You’re welcome! And thank YOU!
How did I miss this post?! Clearly you are a connector – that is part of your core. Thank you for being you. And keep the music/videos coming, ‘k?
@Alana: Thank YOU!
God, thank you so much for mentioning me in such fine company. I hated losing track of the program but I knew if I let the book go I would never pick it up again, and I had to finish. Now that life is getting back to normal again, I’m relieved to be able to submerge myself in your own words, too.
Can’t wait to read that book!
Checking in, sir!
And just like that, 18 days has gone by. :) As you can see from my Twitter feed & blog, I’m trying to be head-down on my paper – something you know plenty about! But I have all these tabs open in Firefox and I’m determined to keep them open until my paper is finished, at which time I’m going to come back and read all of them in leisure, including here. I have my Google Reader set up but I don’t check it much. I will once I’m all done, though. And I’ll be happy knowing you’ll be here. :)
Thanks for all the encouragement and awesome posts for Reverb10. I enjoyed getting to know you here.
-S
Good luck with your studies, Sam. Thanks for checking in.