Rite of Passage at SheStreams

My speaker badge at She Streams 2012 Fort Lauderdale, FL

If you were me, rite of passage would most certainly have been what I experienced at the recent SheStreams conference at Fort Lauderdale in Florida. During the Power Moms session where I was one of the speaker, one blogger from the audience asked "How would you know when it's time to move up to the next level?". Though most of us were a little dumbfounded by the question, well seriously now, how one does really know?, it was indeed a very valid question.  I was appointed to answer the question when no one in my panel volunteered to answer and though I tried my best to answer, that lady's sentiment kind of resonated where I'm right now. How do I really know when it's time for me to move up to the next level? From an achieved blogger to a full-pledged speaker...

@DrMommy @MommyNiri @MaricrisG (Me) @MyGoMom
Power Moms Panel Speakers - She Streams 2012 

Not to bore you to tears but for a little story background, in my past life, I used to speak at workshops and seminars. The irony of it was that I spoke and trained attendees who were a lot older than I was. My credibility had been questioned because of my age without considering my education nor profession. Those were the heydays of my past which I sort of stashed underneath the rug. Fast forward to the future, I'm a little reluctant to jump on the Speaker bandwagon for similar reasons but of different situations. If I was going to speak in front of people, I better know and be an expert at the subject I'm talking about! Wouldn't you agree?

photos courtesy of @DrMommy

But as fate would have it, Thanks to Maria Bailey, I was inadvertently pushed towards this direction which I was evading forever! Maybe it was time. I just didn't know when until it presented itself. Unexpectedly, to be more precised.

One of the things I was, call it "proud to broadcast" during my session, was my rather personal admission and pride of being an introvert, and the evident reality that even an introvert like I'm have the power to be heard and succeed in a world where being an extrovert is most often than not, a highly warranted trait!

My Bio in the Speakers list at SheStreamsconference.com

I also thank Jennifer Labit, CEO of Cotton Babies and one of the opening keynote speaker at the conference for her very encouraging tweet to me after she heard me speak about being an introvert!

It truly reinforces the circumstance I found myself into that I'm on the right path. And just like Maria Bailey said during her keynote presentation, "Everyday, do one thing that scares you." I did. And you know what? I truly believes this applies to all of us.

Go ahead and take that step. Who knows, it may just be the rite of passage you were waiting for in forever...

**SheStreams and AT&T sponsored my full-pass ticket at the conference including my entire hotel stay**