Oh my goodness. I just stumbled into something that I really have to share with you. I was scrolling through all these images on my phone, trying to find a specific image to post on social media and a quote that I captured jumped out and I’m like, oh my gosh, that is something to talk about.

Here’s the quote, let yourself be the person you’ve always secretly wanted to be. I don’t even know who said it, but it really stopped me in my tracks when I saw it.

There are two pieces to the story. The first is that when I was around 12 or 13 years old. My father took me to a class called Silva Mind Control.  This is going to make some people giggle because as I’ve told this story many times, or I’ve mentioned Silver Mind control, other people around my age have had the same experience. My father was fascinated by the early teachings around the power of the subconscious and the power of directing your thoughts and the mind, and positivity. He read a lot of that stuff and he took me to this class. On the very first day, the exercise was around visualization. The assignment was to visualize the clock as we were lying in bed and what time we wanted to wake and I did it. I woke up exactly that time the next morning. It really blew me away and I certainly didn’t miss the lesson. Pretty much from that time forward I, too, became interested in and a student of the power of the mind, the subconscious, how our brain works. I’ve always loved inspirational books and speakers and all things around mindset.

So it was kind of funny just now as I was scrolling through my phone, and I would say at least 40% of my screens grabs when I’m looking for theater ideas or book ideas are tons of inspirational quotes. It made me think about when I was a resident advisor  at Marquette University. Late at night before I went to bed, I would post quotes on the bathroom door so that when the girls got up to go take their showers in the morning they would get a little love message from me. So that quote made me think about what I’ve always wanted to do and be which was about spreading kindness and positivity and speaking to all of these things that permeate my life. The power of choice, agency. The fact that we can always redirect our thinking. This is stuff that I’ve always loved.

The second part of it is around being a journalist. I chose Marquette University because I wanted to be a journalist and they have a great journalism school. But things went sideways the very first semester because I decided that I had to take Latin and I had no experience in languages. In high school I didn’t study French or Spanish, like most other people, and I didn’t understand the concept of conjugation. It wasn’t until many years later when I became a linguist and lived in Europe for over 20 years – I speak Spanish and Italian – that I connected the dots and realized why I failed. Despite the very loving support of the priest, I failed. Or rather I didn’t fail, I walked away from the Latin class and consequently walked away from the journalism school.

You know, it was a very vulnerable time in my life. I also walked away from being a musician.  I played the sax, the flute, and then the oboe was my passion and I also dropped out of that the first semester. But anyway, the point of this is about journalism and why that quote jumped out at me.  When I took the screenshot of the quote ‘let yourself be the person you’ve always wanted to be’, I realized that podcasting is bringing together all of these things that I’ve always loved and always wanted to be. Podcasting is a form of journalism, or at least that’s the way I’m thinking of it.

I love the Seth Golden quote, ‘tag you’re it’. He speaks to the fact that there are no more barriers to enter in so many different fields – in music, in journalism, in all of the creative fields.  Between the technology and the social media platforms, you don’t need to be chosen anymore. You don’t need to submit an article or a book for publication and be quote unquote selected by someone sitting up on the golden throne at the top of who knows what office. You can choose yourself. Tag you’re it. Stand up and write and speak or create the video or put your music out in the world.

The point I’m trying to make is about that quote. I love it because I consider Dear Constance really doing that thing that I always secretly wanted to do. Being that person I always wanted to be. I’ve always wanted to speak to the importance of agency and redirecting your thoughts and being kind and bringing the locus of control back to yourself and being goal oriented and being in the driver’s seat of your life. I’ve always wanted to speak to that somehow. I had simply never found my way, but here it is. I have Dear Constance, and I can be a journalist and I can say and do and speak to whatever I want.  It is so cool, and it sort of begs the question what dream did you forget about? Who was that person you always secretly wanted to be, or that thing that you always secretly wanted to do? What’s your secret or dream in the proverbial desk drawer that’s tucked?

That’s all for now. Until next time, from my heart to yours.