Take Me Down To Mexico City

I just got back from Mexico and, boy, are my arms tired.  Six months ago, my good friends, Curtis and Jessica, asked me to perform their wedding.  They decided to marry at a beach resort in Playa del Carmen in Mexico.

This is where we stayed and played and I got weighed

At first I was really excited.  I thought that having the deadline of hosting their ceremony would motivate me to get on stage.  I figured that if I wanted to do well at my friend’s wedding, I’d have to get on stage somewhere and get over my nerves.  I’m going to go ahead and say that it worked.  Not only did I finally get on stage to perform stand-up comedy for the first time last month, but it was a direct result of having that external pressure.  Yeah, I was nervous, but I didn’t have a choice.  I didn’t want to mess up in front of my friends and I was sick of not facing my fears.

Having the desire to perform on stage and live my dream of becoming a comedian was easy to sideline when there was no accountability.  It’s always been easy to tell myself “No”.  Prior to performing, I would shy away every time an opportunity to try out my dream got near.  I feel that it’s a sign of weakness to avoid attempting your passion.  However, sometimes the only way to gain strength is to recruit help from the outside world.  Being given the opportunity to do Curt and Jessica’s wedding gave me the chance to tell myself “Hell yes!”

Once we agreed on the material that I was going to recite, it was simply getting myself to practice reading and rereading the script.  I don’t think that in this situation there is such a thing as over-preparedness.  When the time came I still stumbled a little even though I rehearsed the twenty minute ceremony over and over for a month.

Everyone said that I did a great job.  I was just thrilled to have an opportunity to do this amazing deed for my friends.  They are great people and I love them very much.  And, whether they know it or not, their faith in me was motivation to push myself toward my dreams.  So, Curtis, Jessica…from the bottom of my heart, Thank you!

Paradise City by wolsamnoraa