Friday, April 10, 2009

Ouch, I've been tagged!

I’m not a fan of memes but tried it a few times and discovered a strange kind of freedom that came with sharing snippets of myself. Still I don't respond to every tag that comes my way. This time my friend Jan Lundy over at Awake is Good tagged me. I had so much fun reading her responses that I thought I'd give it a try.

7 things you may not know about me:

1. From the moment I envisioned my dream to be a writer, whenever my mother scolded me i would respond with a letter explaining and apologizing for whatever I had done. Only when I became an adult did she tell me that she enjoyed reading my letters because in them she could trace my maturity.

2. My father died on October 25th 2007 and even now the pain is so fresh, so raw and so deep, that I still can’t talk about it or him without emotional blood flooding my heart.

3. I am an avid collector of kitchen gadgets, pens, teapots, journals and baskets.

4. I dream of the day when I could live alone, completely alone. As a teenager I used to insist that I will not get married until I had a chance to live by myself. It didn’t happen and the dream is still alive.

5. I am a silent rebel. My husband was the first person to see it, say it and feel the effects of my silent rebellion.

6. I was a real push over until I reached my mid-thirties. That’s when I began drilling in my own head that when I reach forty I will no longer take crap from anybody. The drilling worked too. Silent rebellion coupled with taking-no-crap helped me to stand, fight and defeat efforts by family members and friends to make me conform to their version of who I should be, control and limit me and stifle my dreams.

7. I want to be a speaker. Sure I’m scared like hell even to admit it. But I read a post recently at Good Life Zen that inspired me to speak it out loud. This meme gives me the chance to own it and share it.

Who did I tag?

Sita Henderson at Sita’s Sanctum
Joanne deMaio at Whole Latte Life
Terri Tiffany at Terri Tifanny Inspirational Writer
Hope Wilbanks at Hope Writes
Magnolia Miller at Magnolia Diaries Vol II
Brenda Friedrich at Enroute 365
MaryAnn Diorio at The Write power

The rules…

  1. Link to your original tagger and list these rules in your post.
  2. Share 7 facts about yourself in the post.
  3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names and links to their blogs.
  4. Let them know they’ve been tagged.

16 comments:

Terri Tiffany said...

I loved reading about you! It always helps me draw a little bit closer:) I love too that you want to be a speaker--so do I am like you--am petrified! I even turned down a chance to speak at a conference this year cause I thought I would die if I did!

Magnolia said...

You got me. I've never done this before either. Yours were interesting. You revealed some deep stuff there Cheryl.

funny you would tag me today. I was about to post some "truth" today. Maybe these meme will crank my engines.

Off to do my thing. So, do I tag others when I'm finished?

Cheryl Wright said...

Terri: my name had been added to a list of potential speakers to focus on soft/life skills. Their plan is to travel and speak in the Caribbean region. One minute I'm excited and the next I want to call and ask them to remove my name. In between those times, I pray that God will give me grace and confidence.

Cheryl Wright said...

Mags: I hope the meme does just that, inspire you. Shucks, i forgot to add the rules. I'll edit the post to include the rules at the end my post.

Magnolia said...

I forgot to add them too. I'm lifting them from your post. :)

Cheryl Wright said...

Sure Mags. No problemo.

Joanne said...

Cheryl, you're most definitely an effective writer, because from reading your blog these past months, many of your revelations here do not surprise me. They are how I'd envision you as being! It's amazing how much of our "self" comes out in our words, revealing our nature to others! I always enjoy reading these memes, but haven't really posted one yet. I'll keep it in mind, though, maybe ;)

Janice Lynne Lundy said...

Cheryl,
I love reading your 7. Such wonderful insights about you. I would never have thought of you as a rebel, but I am glad that you are, and are true to yourself and will speak up and out. I was just thinking about my dad today, too. He passed away a few years ago and I have that flood of emotion to my heart like you describe so well when I see someone who reminds me of him.

And I hope you will pursue that dream of speaking. If I can break through that fear, so can you! Toastmasters is good for getting started. Do you have that organization where you are? Or Dale Carnegie?

Thanks for participating. This was fun!

Cheryl Wright said...

Hey Joanne,

And here I was thinking that everybody will be so surprised. Maybe I am an effective writer, as you say - pouring more of myself into my writing than I thought.

Come on, try it. Turn that "maybe" into a yes. I'd love to read your 7. Email it to me if you prefer. I won't tell. I promise (:-)

Cheryl Wright said...

My dear Jan,

At first I wasn't sure if I could think of seven things but I stopped thinking and started writing and there they were.

Then I thought, it wasn't difficult at all. Sometimes we have to stop thinking and "just do it" - do something - take a chance.

There s a Toastmasters chapter in Trinidad but their office is in Port of Spain, the captial and their meetings are at night - too far and too late for me. Dale Carnegie courses are offered here too and it's the same circumstances.

If the speaking gig is to happen, I believe it will one way or the other. I'll remain open.

Kel said...

Like you Cheryl, I'm not a big fan of memes, but since I enjoy reading things others share through them, I figure it's fair to play along every now and then.

Oh how I laughed when you shared about writing those letters to your mum. That sounds like something I would do :)

I also collect teapots and decided about the same time as you to stop letting other people's expectations stifle my own dreams

I have presented at some conferences, workshops, retreats etc, and I still have a fear of speaking in public! People seem to appreciate heartfelt genuine sharing over slick hype - and I think from reading your blog, that you would offer the first, so go for it.

Cheryl Wright said...

Hey Kel,

Thanks for coming over. Occasionally I use my teapots for my personal tea time or when my friend Meena visits. Do you use yours?

I’m working on my fear of speaking by reminding myself that God will not throw me the opportunities unless He has equipped me with the desire, the ability and the passion. The desire is there and I am definitely passionate about speaking with women especially. Slick hype and high-tech presentations have their place, but I concur, people appreciate heartfelt genuine sharing. And that is what I envision for myself.

Kel said...

yes, i use my teapots for myself, have a couple of favourites, and i also have others i use when guests visit

i love their symbolism to slow down and savour the simple things in life

Cheryl Wright said...

Kel,

To me they represent the quieter, simpler time of vacations in the country with my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. That is where I acquired a love for teapots and baskets.

Brenda said...

Thanks for the tag, Cheryl! I may not get around to writing mine soon, but I WILL get around to it!

I got a kick out of your #1! My whole family is like that! Years ago as I negotiated with my parents on whether or not they would come to my wedding, it was all done by letter!

I can also relate to #6!

Cheryl Wright said...

Brenda,

I look forward to reading your 7 Things soon.

Negotiating attendance at your wedding by letter - now that's interesting. My #6 seems to be a common fact in many women's lives.

Thanks for visiting.

 
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