[Since I started this project five (almost six!) months ago, a familiar request has been submitted to my ask box. I want to learn how to be brave too. How? I never quite know how to respond. For me, it happened without warning, a single breath of words so honest and true I felt afraid when I read them over again. In a moment of nostalgic disappointment laced with anger, I poured out some broken poetry about an old friend I’d had lunch with earlier in the day. A change I was unable to grasp. I realized that if I could be honest about something I had been hiding from everyone (denial, avoidance) I could say anything I wanted. It was a bold notion, one I still struggle with constantly.

One of the best things I’ve stumbled upon through this website is an encompassing source of support. Strangers are not just people who understand, but also people who watch you grow, people who root for you with their praise and help construct you with their criticisms. Each time I post something new, I am holding my breath. Take my last post, for example. There was nothing really poetic or tragic about it, just simply how I was feeling in my life lately, but the concept of sharing it openly (especially when I know he’ll read it!) made me nervous. Yet here you all were, giving me kind words and similar stories. That in itself is inspiring.

A few days ago, I had a phone conversation where I rambled onto someone important to me about this project. He told me though I may become frustrated with the notion that poorly written history is more than just about me now, that it has become something so much larger and widespread than I expected, it is still something worth holding onto. My words have helped, changed and influenced people. But for however many times what I’ve said (the things you can’t say) have done something for others, you have done so, so much more for me. I want to give something back to you, too.

This is my way of helping you shake the dust.]

NO SHAME NOVEMBER:

One of the biggest elements of “learning how to be brave” is understanding that you need to trust yourself. All of you have a collection of stories swirling around your minds. Here’s your chance to share one of them, to get past the misconceptions about the way you can write and how you write, finding your own voice without the overwhelming pressure of tackling a entire project of your own. Try out something new. There are no rules to this- you can make it whatever you want it to be.

Here are some (general) guidelines:

1. Write something that scares you. Write something you are uncomfortable with. Write something that takes a risk, any kind of risk. Make it a personal story. If you aren’t ready for that, tell someone else’s story (we won’t know). Say what you need to say. Say what you want to say. Don’t think about how it might sound. Don’t think you aren’t trying hard enough. Give us a part of you that you only share when you are alone. Give us something you can’t say out loud yet. Give us everything you’ve got that shakes you and breaks you. Give us love and anger and sorrow and fear and happiness. Be terrified that you let someone see that part of you. If your fingertips tremble over what you found, you’ve done something right.
2. Send what you wrote to me. You can leave in my ask box or email it to me (noshamenovember@gmail.com). You can include your name and your Tumblr or remain anonymous (though part of being brave means claiming it as yours, I suppose)
3. I’ll collect your submissions and post them on a separate Tumblr, which can be found here.