I went to a conference and didn’t eat any worms. I swear.

Hey there, awesomenesses!

I did something totally outrageous this weekend – even more outrageous than coming home with goats when I lived in the burbs. (Yup. I did that. In my defence, I may have been drinking that day. In my ex’s defence, I probably wasn’t.)

So what did I do this weekend that was so outrageous?

I went to a conference. In a public place. Full of strangers.

And guess what? I came out alive.

As you may know (and if you don’t, I’m about to tell you) writing is one of those “bubble things” where you sit in front of a computer and go inside of your own head to see what you come out with. And I guess we could talk about the Universal Law of Polarities here because generally, conferences have NOTHING to do with bubbles and EVERYTHING to do with lots and lots of OTHER PEOPLE.

Okay. I’m thinking that you got the point regarding my comfort zone. So let’s move on, shall we?

The conference, BlissDom Canada, is an annual social media gathering for bloggers.

Confession: I had no idea what I was doing when I registered. All I knew is that it was a month away. It was all “distant elephants” until I woke up last Thursday – the morning of the conference – and thought, “OMG. What did I get myself into?!!” (True story.)

You know how it is with distant elephants, right? You see them from far away and they look so small and unintimidating that you think, “eh. I could totally pet one.”

And then it happens. While you’re busy with life and bubble things the freaking elephants get closer and closer until you open your eyes one morning (read: THE DAY OF THE CONFERENCE) and there they are – a school or whatever they’re called when there’s an overwhelming amount of them – with their big elephant heads, staring at you in the eyes as though you were supposed to wake up and EXPECT them there.

So along with my camouflaged anxiety attack, I went through with my plans to get to Mississauga to attend this almost-three-day event. Oh yes I did.

And while I was excited about hooking up with other bloggers and learning a bunch of stuff that I was pretty sure existed and that I hadn’t yet heard of, I was also sure that I wasn’t going to fit in. That no one would like me or understand me or even want to because who could possibly care about little old me when there are HUNDREDS of other bloggers out there.

PS. I’m pretty sure that my reference to “little old me” just now has nothing to do with my age. I’m also pretty sure that I have no idea what I just said.

Well guess what? The complete opposite happened! I felt embraced. I felt connected. I felt WHERE HAVE YOU WOMEN BEEN ALL MY LIFE???

My expectations of Blissdom Canada – to learn, share, connect – have given new meaning to these words.

I learned about working with brands.

I learned about how to take better pictures. (Clearly not yet put into practice.)

I learned about the importance of getting out of my bubble and connecting.

I learned that Ontario roads are way better than Quebec roads.

My point?

Blissdom Canada rocks. And if you – no matter what your field, industry or interests are – ever have the opportunity to get out of your comfort zone to go hang out and meet other people with the same interest, DO IT.

(Sorry to totally steal your slogan, Nike. But when the shoe fits . . .)

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