You Are Enough – Writing Contest by Positive Writer

I am participating in the Writing Contest: You Are Enough, hosted by Positive Writer.

Dare to Be Your Authentic Self
by: Yasmina Blackburn

I sat down to write the most important piece of writing in my lifetime. Invited for work I was doing for a not-for-profit organization in my hometown of Chicago called MyJihad, I was terrified to accept the invitation and at the same time, terrified to not accept.

I accepted this challenge of a lifetime to give a TEDx talk.

My talk was meant to open minds and clear up misconceptions about my faith, Islam. My talk was meant to tell a story- explaining why this was important to me. My talk was meant to inspire Muslims and non-Muslims alike and bring people closer.

I wrote the first draft– a surface-level story about myself to justify my expertise.

The more I re-read my early attempt at a TEDx talk, the more daunted I became at the thought of delivering these words to a local, captive audience that also included a global audience tuned in via live stream, all the while being videotaped by four cameras so that my talk could be broadcast on the TED website. Permanently. Self-doubt creeped in. I was not convinced, nor inspired by my own words. I put it away for days at a time.

With fresh eyes, I re-read my early draft again. I felt like a fraud. Who was I kidding? I was trying to convince my audience to be inspired by my words, words that screamed back at me, “You are shallow!” What was I so afraid of?

Ahh- then the epiphany occurred. The only reason I was offered the opportunity to speak- was to tell a story. A real story. I realized that the only way I could successfully deliver a TEDx talk- was to be real. To be raw. And to divulge private thoughts that I thought I could be savvy enough to hide.

Writing is an art that you can hone. If you are a writer, you already know this. Your honed craft is not where the power of your writing lies; however, it is from daring to be your authentic self.

When I read my early draft of a TEDx talk and realized I wasn’t inspiring or convincing anyone of anything— I put myself into a meditative, therapy session where I was both the therapist and the patient. WHY was this topic so important to me to the point that I am volunteering for an organization fighting islamophobia? I asked myself. My thoughts immediately went to my late father and his struggles coming to America. He left a culture that didn’t allow free-thinking to be shared or religion to be practiced. He gave up his family and his entire life so that his children could be free to practice their faith. All these years, I have been trying to find a way to live up to the sacrifices my father made for me.

I couldn’t keep the tears from flowing as I soaked tissue after tissue.

And I wrote my second draft.

I allowed myself to be completely vulnerable. As difficult as it was to feel like I was exposing emotions that I had kept sealed inside of me, protected from view, I knew this was the only way I could possibly pull off a successful TEDx talk. The TED platform is one that expects vulnerability, inspiration.

I wrote from the heart, a guttural expose of my deepest emotions surrounding my passion for fighting islamophobia. In the process, I learned what those emotions were; and, I dared share them with the world. The world reacted by crying, embracing me and clapping their hands. The world reacted by being inspired by the words I wrote.

We all have a story.

Sure, there are secrets inside of each of us that the world doesn’t need to know. But revealing a bit of your authentic self in your writing frees your writing to go from the mundane to the exhilarating.

Revealing a bit of your authentic-self is enough. You are enough. Daring to be authentic provides an opportunity to share things that you kept hidden from the world from yourself.

About the Author

About the Author: I'm a Writer, Speaker and Muslim Activist. I'm a former Board Member of the #MyJihad Public Education Campaign. Follow my blog at yasminareality.com or follow me on Twitter: @yasmina_reality. I'm also now on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YasminaReality Peace! More from this author.

Tagged With: authentic, contest, expose, islamophobia, positive writer, TEDx, vulnerability, writing