We're going to Alaska!
When I hung up the phone after leaving a cold-call voicemail for the Anchorage Public Library, I cringed and placed my forehead on my desk. “Ughhh” I groaned like Tina Belcher. This is the most uncomfortable feeling. Having the audacity to attempt to book a summer tour in Alaska, convincing people who have no idea who we are to pay us to perform in a state 4,000 miles away is a quality I wished, only at that moment, that I didn’t have.
A few hours later, I got a callback. A few days later, we were booked to perform at all 5 Anchorage libraries.
We’re going to Alaska!
Photo from our trip in 207
Why Alaska?
Jeremy is from Alaska. He was born in Anchorage and lived there full-time until he was 7, when his family started wintering in Oklahoma, where Jeremy’s dad is from. Even in elementary school, Jeremy spent his summers commercial fishing for salmon with his younger brothers and sister. His brothers are now both commercial fisherman who live there year-round, and his dad still fishes every summer. Their cabin is in Houston, Alaska, near Wasilla. …No, they don’t know Sarah Palin.
Jeremy’s Parents’ Cabin in Houston, AK
We flew up to Alaska for a little summer tour in 2017, and I fell in love. We performed 5 shows for the communities around Wasilla and the Kenai Peninsula, and I flew home promising we would make the drive up someday. In the following two years, we have worked so hard to grow our skills, polish our shows, and get our company to a place where a trip like this is feasible. We don’t want to wait until we retire to experience a great American adventure!
In Soldotna, Alaska, we performed next to the Kenai river. 2017
We have 8 shows booked so far! That uncomfortable feeling of having a dream and putting ourselves out there to make it happen? I still get it every time I send an email or call a library to ask if they are interested in having us perform. Rejection is scary. Failure is scary. If we don’t try, we’ll never know. Isn’t that what life is all about?!
If you have any connections in Alaska, let us know! Have you ever been? Where should we go? Leave a comment and stay tuned for the rest of the story.
- Kelsey
More photos from our 2017 trip:
Us at Matanuska Glacier in 2017.
Hiking over lumpy lumps
Jeremy had such a bun!
Who hula hoops on a glacier, anyway? (it me…)
We met up with my friend Stacey, who drove up that year. Matanuska Glacier
Fun fact: The Public Safety Building in Houston, Alaska is named after Jeremy’s Grandfather.
We are so excited!!!!
Radiating Your Essence
Do you have stage fright? I do. I was so afraid to go up in front of people and hula hoop. I would hear these critical voices in my head saying:
“Who do you think you are?”
“Your’re not that good of a hula hooper.”
“She’s way better than you are.”
“They are going to think you are such a show off.”
“It takes a lot of courage to go out there and radiate your essence.” - Baths “Maximalist” (Great song)
Do you have stage fright? I do. I was so afraid to go up in front of people and hula hoop. I would hear these critical voices in my head saying:
“Who do you think you are?”
“Your’re not that good of a hula hooper.”
“She’s way better than you are.”
“They are going to think you are such a show off.”
I really struggled with getting up on stage, but when I did, it felt SO GOOD. The-best-feeling-ever kind of good. My favorite part was finding someone’s eyes, and turning to perform just for them. I felt such a connection with my audience. I have actually cried during a performance at the thought that I was giving people the gift that someone gave to me the first time I saw someone spin double hoops.
Remember that? The very first time you saw someone play with fire, or hula hoop, or spin poi? Remember watching them and being enraptured with joy and amazement? Remember dreaming about becoming like them, and practicing through all those awkward moments and fails for years as you got better and better at your craft? Something inside you was called out by their radiance. It stood up and the fire was lit inside of you. Okay, I’m getting really corny here, but you know I’m right!
So what is performing anyway? You carefully choose your costume, makeup, prop, music and add all the pieces that are so essentially you. You are actualizing, ascending….radiating your essence.
THIS IS YOUR GIFT
So what do I do when I’m nervous about being in the spot light, or I hear the inner critic in my head doubt how qualified I am to walk on stage?
I think about THEM.
Who am I really doing this for? I didn’t spend years in my back yard learning hoop tricks, so I can keep them to myself. This is to OPEN PEOPLE’S MINDS to what is possible. This is to show little girls that you can grow up and do whatever you want. This is to laugh in the face of the time I almost died and prove that I have done my best with my second chance. This is for the MEs and the YOUs in the audience who need their souls lit on fire.
And at the very least, this is to put on a great show for the crowd. Because, it’s my job to go out there and radiate my essence. Nobody else radiate my essence for me. No matter what is going on in my world, with my husband, with my life…time stops when I walk up on stage and resolve to be the best expression of my soul that this little skin suit can possibly perform. This is an opportunity to widen my reach and create a little rainbow light in the eyes of everyone who sees me.
So, next time you feel nervous, or unqualified, or fat, or imperfect, or just a little off- remember that it’s not about you. It’s about them. You’ve got a job to do, and nobody can do it like you. Go out there and radiate your essence.
So much love,
Kelsey
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