What can happen if you just try? What if you carry no expectations?
I did something crazy a few months ago. I wanted to be on Cronkite Cut – a weekly online broadcast and basically the E-News of Arizona State University.
One problem – I had literally no experience. I had little knowledge of pop culture. I’d never read off a teleprompter. I’d never even worked in journalism.
But, it looked fun and I wanted more on-camera experience before trying to get internships.
I went to the information meeting and found myself as the only graduate student in a sea of underclassmen. Each one of them had more experience than me, either in college or as a part of their high school news channels. (WHAT?! High schools have that now?)
Though I was incredibly intimidated, I decided to adopt the Nike slogan in that situation. Just do it. I had nothing to lose. I would audition and get a role… or not. That’s all there was to it. I was just going to give it my best, uneducated shot.
Since I really didn’t know anything, I prepared myself as best I could for the teleprompter audition. I asked a professor for tips on broadcasting. She not only gave me advice, but she even let me crash a teleprompter practice session for an advanced class. I got to spend 10 minutes at the news desk with the teleprompter running. I also took the audition script home and practiced with my laptop in front of a mirror.
Come audition day, I showed up with my 10 minutes of experience. All the pressure was off and I could just be in the moment. All in all, I felt I did pretty well, minus one word flub. Not too shabby for someone who’d only been in journalism school for 2 weeks!
When I got the email that I was offered a position as a reporter, I couldn’t believe it. Had I chickened out and not attended the info session, or backed out after the info session, I would have cheated myself of this opportunity. And now I have at least a good four videos for my reel!
It’s funny though – often our perceptions of ourselves don’t match those of people around us. Attending the first meeting for Cronkite Cut, I sat next to a girl who had sat close to me in the audition holding room. She informed me that she had felt so intimidated by ME when I walked in that audition room. (Apparently, I looked really put together and mature and like I knew what I was doing…)
My point is, think of how many opportunities you missed because you were afraid to put yourself in a new arena. You never know what could happen, how your experiences have prepared you for that moment, and what other people actually think of you.
Don’t deny yourself the chance.