Show Up Scared. Do It Anyways.
Are You Ready to Say Yes?
Happy Saturday morning, my friends! It is the first Saturday of September and I am feeling all of the things! We're heading into the fall season, if that means anything in south Louisiana! The heat has been crazy, though I've enjoyed the cooler mornings lately! By cooler, I just mean 85 degrees instead of 99.9 before the sun even comes up! This weekend is also the start of football season and I have grown to love this time of the year in Baton Rouge!
Anywaysssss, I am having my usual iced caramel latte this morning! What will you be having?
And while we're here, what was the highlight of your week? As for me, the highlight of my week was being pleasantly surprised by the quality of clothing I received from my first Shein order. Yesss, girl! I am so late to the Shein world of fashion, but I decided to place my first order recently and I like what I've received. Yes, I broke my no purchase August by a few days and yes, I will be dropping these by the cleaners for a good steam but I'm not mad at the quality, especially for the price! I'm a blazer kind of girl, so of course my first order included not one, BUT TWO blazers, girlll! I'll style them and show them to yall over on my socials a little later.
This week I want to double back to a couple of weeks ago when I hosted the inaugural back to school brunch, specifically for teachers. Today, I want to be real with you about the rollercoaster of emotions and thoughts from start to finish with hosting my very first event.
But first, some background. I love people. Literally, as I've grown and healed over the years, I realize that I have a huge heart for people and more specifically seeing people win. I've been in education for seven years now, and quickly I learned that teachers are my favorite kind of people. As many of you know, I founded a consultant firm, ElleCarter Consultants, and it focuses primarily on helping school leaders foster a school culture that is conducive to teacher retention, especially in a society where people are leaving the career in large numbers. I wholeheartedly believe that cultivating and nurturing the school culture is foundational for everything else we seek to accomplish. In a nutshell, that is what EC does. On the other hand, the vision for EC is to always celebrate and support teachers. This looks like many things on my vision board, but most recently, it looked like hosting a brunch to create an opportunity for teachers to gather, connect with other teachers, network, and come together to pray over the school year.
Over the summer, I had this bright idea. I shared it with a friend or two. It was just a thought, nothing that I initially thought I'd move on. Some weeks passed and the friends were reminding me of the idea pretty consistently so finally, I decided to sit down and map out a plan. It started with the fact that I knew what I had prayed and journaled about in the previous summer and I knew the answered prayers God had already shown up for! So, my initial idea was that I could curate a space for us all to pray together and that teachers would attend over multiple parishes and we could all pray for the needs we've identified in our respective schools and school districts. Let me just say that praying in my journal is way different from praying out loud and with a group of folks! Now, why does my brain do that thing where it loses it's train of thought! Can pray and write all day at home but childddd, it's different in front of folks so shoutout to yall that do. Nonetheless, we got through the prayer.
Initially, I wanted to have a dinner party, in a garden. That's how I initially saw it. Well, it's hot down here in south Louisiana and at no time in an August day was that going to be a great idea. So, I quickly moved to an indoor brunch idea. I was off to scout a location. It came down to two, Bin 77 and Rouj Creole. Bin 77 had more of the vibes that supported my first idea. However, they also had a food a beverage minimum. For a first time event host, I did not want a food and beverage minimum! At the time, I felt grateful to just get a handful of people to share this space with me. Off to Rouj Creole. It was a much better fit for my ideas.
Then, I sat down and started coming up with all of the marketing material for it. This was probably one of my favorite parts. Same day, the battery in my car decided to die and I really didn't care because, honestly, I had a brunch to plan! Later, planned the video content and shot it myself. I created the Eventbrite link and added it all to my Linktree in my bio.
Finally, facing all of my fears, I made a post on social media. WHEW!! If I weren't committed to this before, now I am! The post got an organic 50 shares on Instagram and Instagram is generally where I struggle to get the most engagement. Okayyy, people are embracing it. The truth is this (and if you take nothing else from this blog post, take this), giving God a yes is both exciting and terrifying but when you show up, people don't know you're scared. People don't know all that it took to get to just this point. Most of the time, they embrace who and what you are at face value,, so show up scared. Do it anyways!
Show up scared! Do it anyways!
I originally posted on a Friday. By Sunday morning, I received a DM from a well known organization in the educational space, in the Baton Rouge area. They wanted to meet me for coffee, where they would go on to express their desire to partner on the event. Beyond that, even inviting me to serve on their advisory board. I was so excited and I really felt an immediate return on investment for giving God this one yes. Though this didn't realize in the ways in which I hoped, I am still grateful and still inspired.
Weeks are passing, I am posting. Ticket sales are s l o wwww. No worries, it's what people do! They wait until the last minute, at least that's what I told myself. That didn't change the downward motion happening in my emotions. I was back to thinking "Where two are more or gathered. That means it really just needs to be me and someone else!" So here I am having these conversations with myself and now I'm on an upward swing again!
I've been on a real kick to do everything I set out to do with a spirit of excellence. I don't want to commit to anything that I cannot give my absolute best to, so regardless to the ticket sales, I was going to prepare the experience as if it were a room full. I'll be even more transparent and share with you that months ago, my friend invited me to church with her. I went to her church and there were literally ELEVEN people total in the church. In fact, I remember us pulling on the parking lot and asking her if they canceled church and didn't let anyone know. I remember sitting through the service and taking note of how the pastor showed up and he preached with everything in him as if the room was full. I can't remember the sermon but I remember how inspired I felt. There was really something to be said about showing up even when the vision hasn't come to fruition like you initially envisioned. Show up, anyways. Can He trust you with the little? I stored that moment in a pocket in my heart. Days leading up to the event, my mind would constantly flashback to this moment, at this church.
So I prepared the gift bags and I put all of the final touches on everything. The day of the event, I didn't feel stressed or running around at the last minute. I had managed my time well and I was prepared for whomever would come and however God would move.
Wrap it up, girl! For my first event, I think it went well. I received really good feedback from the attendees and there are still places where I'd like to improve for next year or the next event, which I plan to host in January at a............... COFFEE SHOP! This should come as no surprise to anyone. I'll never forget this experience and I certainly will never forget those, who so generously, supported my vision. I don't see the stairwell just yet, I can only see the next step. One thing is certain, school culture is undoubtedly my space and teachers are undoubtedly my people.
