Public Speaker, Workshop Presenter …

I have been a poet and writer of prose, as well as a blogger for quite some years now, but the life of being a Public Speaker, in any big way, has long eluded me. But now, oh now, I feel that is all about to change.

I have a disability, Multiple Sclerosis, OH how sad, right? Not really, it’s under control with medication and lifestyle actions, from diet, to exercise, as well as working to live as stress-free and positive life as I can. It seems to be working, I haven’t had a relapse for quite some time. I know, though, that one could hit me at any time.

I was diagnosed with MS back in 2010, ten years ago, so it’s something I know quite a bit about. I’ve also been interested in dogs, in a few different ways, dogs as pets, showing dogs, breeding purebred dogs, doing obedience training too, in a minor way. And writing about dogs, in both serious, and amusing ways, with three books so far, about a dog who lives in my mind, named Buster the Dog!

Not Buster the Dog, but our Dog, Missy, with her little friend Herman the German.

Gardening is an interesting thing in my life too, and I’m currently getting assistance to get my place made safer for me, and with better quality of life. This is paid for by the government, via the NDIS, and I am grateful for that, or I will be once it is all finished.

I also have lived experience of child sexual and other sexual abuse, fortunately from a much earlier time in my life, my life now is much happier. I have a poetry collection I put together when I was in the healing process of becoming more settled in my life over the things that had happened to me, victim to survivor, and now I can say I am thriving.

So my way of getting through life has relied very much on using my words to heal myself, to entertain others, to explore my life, and the lives of others. And I love to speak to people! Sitting down in small groups and chatting, standing up with a microphone and speaking to a crowd, I love it!

So now, I have a support worker, paid for by NDIS, and she and I are looking to find speaking engagements for me. I give her possible groups I could speak to, and she is working toward getting gigs booked. She will assist me too, once I actually get engagements, by carrying my books I will bring, for possible sales, and book signing, fun times!

And soon, the writing group I’m involved with will be holding its monthly writing workshop, and poetry reading, and I am going to be one of the two workshop presenters, hooray! I will be talking about some forms of poetry, the other presenter another one and some tips of getting small poetry forms published in a particular magazine she has been published in, an Australian one.

I definitely feel like my life, even in these awful Covid times, is heading in a good direction.