Butturflies in my Stomach by Georgianne Vecellio

Uh-oh, there they were again. Those little butterflies that sneak into my stomach when I’m about to be in front of people I don’t know. It happens to me every semester when I’m about to meet a new group of students, and it happened to me as I drove toward the location of the commercial that I was scheduled to shoot.

The irony was that this particular shoot wasn’t even a speaking part. So how did those pesky butterflies get in?

It was a momentary lapse of confidence. I looked in the mirror and thought “Susi would have done my hair and makeup better”, and “I really look like I was sick all of last month”, and even “What if I do something stupid?” Just a few seconds of doubt was the perfect window of opportunity.

But you know what? After I got to the location of the shoot, the butterflies flew away. Everyone I was going to work with was great—friendly and professional—and I wasn’t expected to do anything beyond my capabilities.

Some of the best professors I have ever met have told me that they, too, experience nervousness when they are about to meet a new class. They expect it, and they worry that a lack of jitters means that it is time for them to quit teaching. After all, if you are not concerned about doing a job well, you shouldn’t be doing the job at all.

So the butterflies can flit around in my stomach for a few seconds. The rest of the time they can stay in the garden.