I Know I Can

If you’re like me, there are a ton of things you want to accomplish, but not enough time in the day or on the calendar to realistically get it all done. You have a ton to prove—not to others, but to yourself. You want to be the version of yourself that you imagined since you were young.

That’s where I am now. I love writing. It's the first thing I truly knew I was good at. But the thought of just being a good writer and nothing more is something I struggle with.

Recently, I got the urge to start my own live streams on Twitch. I wasn’t a big viewer of the platform before, but after researching everything it takes to put a stream together, along with building out my own assets and setup on my own, I quickly began to appreciate what full-time streamers do for their careers. After the setup process is complete, hosting your stream is its own beast. You’re basically a live talk show host, chatroom admin, producer and gamer all at the same time. What may seem as a relaxing and fun endeavor can quickly turn into a daunting juggling act.

I average just a few viewers per stream. I love every second of it.

Being on camera and talking just feels right, and it satisfies in a way that writing can’t. The audio and visual aspects of streaming and podcasting allows you to control the emotions you want to express more easily. Yes, great writers can find ways to pull those emotions out of you. But finding your audience as a writer these days is an uphill battle in the current landscape of media…unless you hitch your wagon to something or someone in the visual media realm.

And that’s the goal now, baby! I am streaming. I will begin podcasting shortly. Not because I have to—but because I want to…and I know I can!

I’m a big believer in not wasting dreams, talents or opportunities. My writing got me through the door, and I’ll continue to write until my fingers fall off and the voice-to-text robot AI has turns evil and begins an intergalactic takeover of the universe.

But I’m ready for much more than the monotonous sound of fingers hitting the keyboard. I want to talk. I want to listen to people’s stories. I want to have fun in the present.

I cannot promise a date. But soon, there will be a podcast hosted by yours truly. There will be more streams to (hopefully) a growing audience.

Until then, I’ll be writing “I know I can.”