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On the ninth of July I had the opportunity to speak during the event “tell to inspire”. It was a night to remember! Though, you would not have guessed, speaking in public was once one of my biggest fears!
Up to a few months ago, speaking in front of a lot of people made me anxious. I was always so nervous, would stutter, get red and talk extremely fast. Don’t get me started on school presentations..horrible. But I have changed, a lot. I became more confident, I have developed myself and inspiring others is what I love to do.
I can honestly say, my experience in Germany has helped as well. Being confident to do a presentation in German, made me realise I should be able to do that in my own language as well. Also, becoming the ambassador of my school helped me, as that was the first time I spoke in front of a bigger public!
There was a Facebook post where Edward was looking for a guest speaker on his event, Tell To Inspire. Together with Daphne, Bas and Natalie, they have created this amazing event, an event to inspire others through storytelling. Its theme? “this is really me”. All the proceeds were donated to Sint Jacob, to realise wishes from the elderly.
The beginning
I commented under Edward his post that I lost my hair due to Alopecia 3 years ago and that it made me more confident than I ever was. I also explained that I have an Instagram account and blog, where I am trying to inspire you guys :) and that you do not have to fit into the perfect picture. After writing my story in a short version, I got chosen to be the guest speaker. I cannot tell all of you how thankful I was and how thankful I still am for that opportunity.
The evening
The event took place in Haarlem at DeDAKKAS, which is a beautiful location! If you ever visit Haarlem and want to eat there; here is the link http://dedakkas.nl/. I went there with my grandparents. It was lovely to meet everyone in real life.
I was incredibly nervous haha. We practised everything up front and then it was time.. time for the evening to begin!
Firstly, I had the pleasure of listening to the first 2 speakers;
· Bas; who talked about how to get to your “this is really me” point. How he fired himself, so that the necessity came to follow his heart. https://redcowboys.com/
· Natalie; who talked about her discovery of the 5 second rule, a rule to stop making excuses and to tackle what is holding you back. She also creates
some beautiful things; https://nataliewool.nl/
Then… it was my turn. If you know me a bit, you know I obviously wrote out everything I wanted to tell...though in reality I did not follow that script haha.
Everyone was introduced with a song of their own choice, when walking up the stage. When you came close to the ending, they started the song again and played it for a bit longer after you finished. I chose “This is me” by Keala Settle.
When I got up that stage, my nerves just disappeared. I stood there, told my story proudly and the reactions from the public were absolutely AMAZING. A true dream come true. I was able to raise awareness for alopecia, to inspire others and to do what I love most. That evening made me realise that being a motivational speaker is a dream I most definitely want to pursue.
“You made me face facts, that I somewhere did realise, but which really came through after tonight
I talked about my self-acceptance, how I got bullied in primary school, how I thought that changing myself into being like the rest would give me the confidence I needed, when in reality, hiding behind all that make-up, the insecure girl still existed. I talked about how alopecia changed me for the better, about the things I realised regarding to being yourself and that you do not need to fit into the perfect picture. I discussed my struggles with accepting myself and with thinking I was unable to do things. Making me too scared to do what I love. Furthermore, I talked about how I did accept myself, how making mistakes is okay, how I came to realise that looks don’t matter and that being you is the most important thing. That giving yourself time, going after your dreams and most importantly look in the mirror and be happy with yourself, but that bad days are a part of life as well, are important things.
I also talked about my Instagram and blog and how I am trying to help others, how I am busy following my dreams and how I love inspiring others.
*** ALL PICTURES MADE BY LISA ROOS ***
The feedback I received was UNREAL. I am so grateful for that day and I am looking forward to more days where I can stand on a stage to inspire.
If you would want to see what people
said about me being on stage, click this link;
Then, the other two speakers told their story.
· Daphne; who talked about living from your own feeling and intuition. She gave tips on how you can grow in your personal development and how that teaches you to have faith in yourself; https://www.daphneschipper.com/
· Edward; who talked about doing good for another person, how he reached millions of people with that mission. But also, the downside from “doing good”, as he forgot himself and he had to prevent becoming homeless.
Special thanks to
There were obviously more people involved in this event, so I want to thank them as well:
· Lisa Roos for making all the stunning pictures
· Jolien for being an amazing event manager https://www.bundelt.nl/
· Anita for greatly accompanying the evening by introducing all the speakers and talk to the public https://www.anitasanders.nl/
· Jörgen and his friend for filming everything (still really curious to see how it turned out ;) )
· Edward for giving me this chance!
And I obviously want to thank everyone for being so nice and to have made that evening the great evening that it was :)
It was an experience to never forget! For all the people who live in The Netherlands, keep checking https://www.facebook.com/telltoinspire/ for updates for new events.
This evening was a huge step to fulfilling my dreams and I hope I will get more opportunities to get on stage! If you are interested in hiring me to talk on stage for your event; please e-mail me at alopeciangirlboss@gmail.com
With love,
Anne
AlopecianGirlboss
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alopeciangirlboss/
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