Speaking About My Book and Bipolar Disorder for the First Time

Last week I found myself in a situation that I would have never dreamed of. I was in the car with my Toastmaster mentor (Toastmaster's is a public speaking group) going to a book club to speak about my newly released book. It also happened to be at my vice principal's house. I work in an elementary school. One year ago my vice principal had no idea I had bipolar disorder. I was scared to tell fearing I would be discriminated against. It had happened before. A year agoI was not even sure I could stand up in front of a room and admit that I have a mental illness. In our society mental illness has a synonym which is crazy. Last year I remember thinking I don't think I can do this. I shared my doubts with a friend and she assured me that God was never going to ask of me something I could not do. Yeah right I thought easy for her to say. I had written out my talk and practiced it multiple times for my Toastmaster's group. The first time was a crash and burn the second time was successful. So there I was in front of some people who know me and had come out to support me and others I did not know. At first my heart raced a million miles a minute and I was filled with butterflies. They went away as I started bearing my soul. I started speaking the truth from the bottom of my heart. The truth about my past experiences the ups and downs that come with living with bipolar disorder. I shared of my current stability and how my dreams really did come true in my life. I brought awareness to bipolar disorder and my message of hope that night. I was told I did a great job and I know in my heartI did. I came I saw I conquered.