An Event of a Lifetime

By Victoria L. Weaver, King’s College Chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, Wilkes-Barre, PA (Eastern Region)

Fifty-Six. 56. Fifty-six is my age, yet most of the students are in their 20s. However, though the number 56 seems so ancient, I know and feel I am a part of this group. Why?  It’s the love of English. The desire to be a part of it all. 56. The first time I wrote poems – poems that seemed to come so easy – yet accepted and approved by others with the same desire . . . the love of English. It is 2010, March 17-20 to be exact – St. Louis, Missouri. This is my first Sigma Tau Delta International Convention. Yes, at 56 years of age, I am finally a senior reaching for and close to achieving my B.A. degree!

How will I be accepted? How will my poems go over? I get to the convention and attend opening night ceremonies after a day of discovering the Arch and Tom Sawyer’s Riverboat Cruise. Am I really here? I sit and listen to the featured speakers and am amazed at the large turn out of others that have the love of English. To make my experience more enlightening, I listen to those who read at the Rectangle Forum. My heart went up into my throat as I hear all of their works of art. My poems could not compare. My poems are simple nature poems. I think to myself and say, “Uh oh!  I’m in trouble.  My stuff doesn’t add up to this caliber of writing. I am making a mistake . . . a big mistake!”

I go back to my room and peer out at the Arch overlooking the Mississippi River. I share this scene, the same scene shared by others such as T.S. Eliot, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Tennessee Williams, William Wells Brown, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, Vance Randolf, and Margaret Truman. This convention is entitled “Storytellers.” I say to myself, “Hey!  I have a story to tell. It might not be as polished or intense as others, but I have a story to tell – my love for nature. In this day of tweeting, texting, emailing, face book, digital cameras, cell phones - everyone looking through a lens or at a screen – we need to stop and look at what is around us – the beauty of nature.” But will people laugh or not clap as I finish reading my poems? Will they find them old-fashioned and silly? I’m sensing a bit of nervousness or possibly I’m losing my confidence. But I remember my love for nature which is so intense as well as my love of English.

I prepare for my session knowing I own my poems. They are my words and I owe it to nature to deliver them. It is time – I start to read my poems. Ahhhh!  I’m happy because I recite them the way I want to – with error-free confidence. The audience claps at the finish of my poems. CLAP!  I feel good but still I think, “Are my poems good enough to be part of such high caliber work that surrounds me? Well, maybe – maybe not – but I deliver my inner-most love and expose my soul through the love of English." To my surprise I am approached by several people who loved my work. I’m ecstatic!  It was, and is, totally worth it!

Yet another challenge awaits me on Friday night – Open Microphone Session. I meet lots of wonderful fellow “lovers of English.” We eat, laugh, and get to know each other. And then the evening came. I stand on stage, shaking at the knees without a podium to hide behind, in front of a crowd to tell two more of my poems. This time I am unsure how my poems went over. I start to doubt myself again until at a stoplight the next afternoon, on my way to lunch with my new friend Marcy, a young woman walks up to me and tells me I did a good job and she loves my poems. WOW!!! That is all I could think. WOW!!

Looking back on my whole experience at the convention, I must say the guest speakers were all outstanding and each had lovely messages to bring. What a wonderful experience to be a part of. I’m so thankful for the love of English. My life and soul are joyous for being a part of this event! My work has only started because next year I want King’s College to be represented with at least four students presenting their works of art. I want the whole convention to know that King’s College arrived.