I Believe Wednesday: Take a Chance

Posted byKatrina Ávila MunichielloPosted inCreativity, I Believe Wednesday, My Essays

takeachance

I’m a big believer in taking a chance. Amazing things happen when you take the leap, not knowing how it might turn out. You can surprise yourself with how successful you are. But then…

Then there are the times when it is a disaster. You don’t just fail, but you fail BIG. And the repercussions continue.

Then I have to ask myself – which regret is bigger? The regret of trying and failing or the regret of not knowing if it might have worked out.

MOST of the time, I’d rather know. I’d rather know if my dream is possible. I’d rather know if I’m capable.

It’s the sheer nerve that it took me to send out a book proposal with no agent or formal writing training. In my heart, I really believed that my idea was a good one and, blissfully, so did the publishers.

whitehousekatIt’s the audacity I had to contact the White House to see if I could be admitted as press to a Mother’s Day tea event hosted by Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden. I still can’t believe I did it. Even moreso, I can’t believe I actually got press credentials and stood in the room with them and with their special guest Prince Harry.

Let’s be honest — all the big decisions required me to take a chance: marriage, having kids, every job I’ve ever tried. (Especially the jobs where someone gave me a shot at doing work I’d never done before. And I did it. Every time.)

So what is the next big chance? There are a few that I’m taking at once, because why not? 1) I’ve been sending out my picture books to agents. 2) I’m starting work on a middle grade book. Not just talking about it. Actually starting it. 3) I’m working towards a new contracting job that is really exciting…but also really kind of scary.

The potential upside — proving to myself that I have a future in this writing world. The potential downside — shaking my confidence and forcing me to put this dream aside for awhile. But probably not. It’s not like they’ll take my pen away.

Other I Believe Wednesday posts: I Believe Wednesday: Kindness and I Believe Wednesdays: Imagination

 

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Published by Katrina Ávila Munichiello

KAM is a freelance writer, editor, and lifelong lover of books. She was the kind of kid who woke up before sunrise to read before school and her passion for books has never waned. After nearly a decade of work in public health and the non-profit sector, she became a stay-at home mom. The twelve years since have allowed her discover a new life’s ambition — writing. She published her first book “A Tea Reader: Living Life One Cup at a Time,” a collection of essays written by tea lovers around the world, in 2011, and has had articles and essays featured in outlets including Yankee Magazine and Boston Globe Sunday Magazine. She served as Senior Editor of Tea Magazine. She currently writes picture books and middle grade books and is loving every minute of making them better. She is a member of NESCBWI, Vice President of Friends of the J.V. Fletcher Library and advisor of an elementary school Newspaper Club.

One thought on “I Believe Wednesday: Take a Chance”

  1. Pingback: I Believe Wednesday: Nature | KAM Reads

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