I Am Just A Doer of Things

Hello Hapi People,

I am writing to you from a Mexican restaurant parking lot as I await my boyfriend's arrival. Living an hour away from each other means we have to meet have way quite a bit. Anywho, I'm sitting here checking my email and something weird happened. I posted a new poem Monday night to my page on Hello Poetry. (The site is a community of poets who share poetry and can give feedback on others. It's a pretty cool place. I don't post nearly enough.) I was surprised by the positive response and it was very encouraging. However, I got notice this morning a reader and friend (I call hello poetry people "friend" in correspondence) added me to a reading list, a collection of poetry which he titled "A Notch Above the Daily Fluff". I was flattered and surprised so I sent a note of thanks to him via the messaging system on the website. Again, here in the parking lot, I checked my email and I saw he responded with,

"You're welcome, poet."

I am not saying any of this to brag, I'm telling you because it is odd to me to ever get recognition for things that I say. I have always written poetry, but never thought of myself or let alone ever been called a poet. People like Emily Dickinson, Maya Angelou, Bukowski, Thoreau, heck Shakespeare - those people are "poets". It hit me in a weird way to be called that by a total stranger. I mean when I have told people I write, I almost always get the cheesy pun response, "You're a poet and you didn't know it!" That I take as a bad joke, but I'm never genuinely been called a poet.

I suppose in any creative endeavor, I've never felt like I had any title. I still feel weird, after all this time, to tell people I'm a singer. It's gotten easier over time, but it still feels weird. I mean, I never really started believing I was singer until other people told me.  I'm not sure why - maybe its a confidence thing ... Needless to say, the response of this reader had me thinking quite a bit. I have always just been a doer of things, and I've been called many titles. However, I have always just been me, Amy, doing something I enjoy. I just make things, write songs and poems, sew, love, feel emotions intensely ... I'm not a singer, poet, clothing maker, emotional, crafter, blogger. I know that sounds like such a hipster thing to say, but I'm just being honest. Its odd to me to be labeled as anything because I do so many things. I am not one thing, I just do things.

I am not sure if today's post will make any sense, but this thought was profound to me so I thought I would share. If it's weird, I'm sorry. However, if you relate on any level ... please let me know.


Peace&Love,
Amy