I am so freaking excited about TEDx MidAtlantic. It sounds like heaven to me. I was feeling a little weird about the anecdote I chose for the application, and after I confirmed my attendance this morning, I had a revelation about why that particular anecdote seemed so relevant. I wrote:
One afternoon when I was in my early twenties, I was having lunch with a co-worker. I told him that for as long as I could remember, I had this feeling that if I just moved enough times and went through enough relationships and jobs, eventually I would be interesting. My co-worker looked at me across his beer and nonchalantly asked, “Interesting to whom?” I was dumbstruck. I had been telling myself this story for years, and I hadn’t thought of that. Suddenly being interesting seemed much less… interesting. Silly, even.
Several years later, I was relaying an anecdote from my past to a much younger co-worker, who responded with, “You know, you’ve had a really interesting life.” Finally, I had my answer! All those years I had been working very hard to make myself interesting to Katherine, the wholesale manager at Pangea Vegan Products.
I still think of this every time I worry about having something of interest to contribute to the world, and it always makes me smile.
This morning it dawned on me that the co-worker who blew my mind is named… Ted. So hey, all these years later, thanks, Ted.
