Earlier this year, I read some information about a writing contest with the Lansing State Journal, called Lansing Writes for the Arts! The winning essay writer would receive tickets to the Broadway Series shows at the Wharton Center, and this year’s topic was about the impact of the performing arts. Learning about this contest felt like the kick in the pants I needed to flex my writing muscles.
Creative nonfiction was my favorite genre in undergrad and grad school. I was able to take the lessons I learned in my poetry classes and apply them to nonfiction essays, putting past experiences into perspective while playing with the language.
I wrote my essay in a matter of days, and I was way overconfident about my chances. The tickets to the shows would have been a great prize, but truly I loved the idea of having my creative writing published for others to read. Isn’t that the thing about writing or singing or doing something creative, that we equally don’t want anyone to read or hear or see us and yet want the attention and validation?
Ultimately my essay wasn’t chosen, and it has been collecting dust in my Google Docs the last several months. Then recently, as I was trying to think of blog post ideas, I realized that I have my own little slice of the internet to put my writing whenever I want! And maybe it’ll force me to write more essays, or go back through some of my essays from school and polish them up and see what could possibly shine.
So without further ado, here’s my essay. As it explains, my foray into the performing arts was limited, but not because I didn’t love doing it. Really, it’s because my talents in that area are mediocre. But I love being an audience member. That thought is what carries through in the essay.
Also I sort of leave out the fact that I was in “The Vagina Monologues” in college, so if you want to call me James Frey, that’s okay. The essay worked better with the omission. ** Insert shrug emoji or shrugging Elmo GIF. **