Taking on a New Challenge

I’ve recently taken on a new challenge. I’ve been part of a group called WyoPoets for a little over a year now, and I am now the vice president of the group.

Let me tell you a little about WyoPoets. It’s the Wyoming branch of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies and is for published poets and those who pursue it as a hobby, and everyone in between. While it is based in Wyoming, its membership is open to individuals everywhere.

When I was asked if I had any interest in being the vice president, I wondered — as I often do when offered opportunities like this — if I were qualified enough. However, poetry is growing so fast in my life that since saying yes to this opportunity, that naysayer voice in my head is getting muffled.

I suspect that a fair amount of people think of all the work that comes with a volunteer position like this, but all I could think was that as long as they didn’t mind a newbie, then yes. A thousand yeses even. I felt honored to serve in an organization that promotes poetry in my state. And to have the opportunity to help in some small way to mold the group, help it grow, and keep it going so more poets can come together and find the support and encouragement they need. Well, that’s exactly what I love doing — helping writers and poets.

I started a mission when I began this website called Igniting the Flame in which I hoped to encourage writers (or anyone really) to pursue their passion. From that point, my desire to help other writers has only grown, and along with it, the opportunities to do that very thing.

My sister once told me that I was changing the writing landscape in my community, and when she phrased it like that, I thought, Yes! that’s what I want to do.

It’s a balancing act because I have writing projects of my own that I pursue, and I have to leave time for that. But if I can help bring writers together and assist in providing opportunities for poets to find their voice, and writers together to find encouragement and join them with people who share the same obstacles and fears with advice on how to get through them, then I find there’s tremendous value in that.

A few years ago, I wouldn’t have imagined becoming vice president of an organization like WyoPoets. It didn’t even occur to me to dream for something like that. But I’ve watched how inspired writers and poets get when surrounded by other writers and poets.

For me, that’s all the more encouragement I need to keep doing the things I’ve come to love doing for my community.

And luckily, with WyoPoets, I get to be a part of the process for the next three years. This year I’ll be vice president, next year I’ll be president, and the last year I’ll be past president. While the duties are not vast or overly complicated (as I may have first worried), I’m happy to promote poetry in our state and hopefully I’ll get to watch it grow over the next few years. It also makes me more responsible for the continued success of the group instead of being a passive member, which I’ve only come to understand the value of in the past few years. Now that I understand the importance of being an active participant in my writing community, well, I can never go back to being a casual observer.

I encourage you to look for associations and organizations for writers and poets near you. I can’t really express how much I’ve gained from them in the past few years that I started joining a few in Wyoming. I remember thinking I’d check out WyoPoets for a year and see how I liked it, and when it was time to renew I didn’t have to think about whether I wanted to stay with the group. I don’t know how I managed without being part of groups like this before.

And if you don’t have one in your area, join WyoPoets. We’d be happy to have you, and membership is only $20 a year.