As a writer, the scariest thing can be putting yourself out there — showing your work. Often, we keep our work hidden, continue editing, and forever dream of being read.

But you should share your work.

Just from creating this website, I can say I’m definitely happier with myself. I feel like I’m working on my goals. I’m so thrilled that strangers might see my poetry, might even like it. Up to this point, only my cat and my friends have laid eyes on my writing, and while that is awesome, I feel like my poetry will grow from this experience.

I’ve been putting this off for a while with bad excuses: I don’t have time, I need to finish other projects first, life just gets in the way, etc. If I had known how rewarding this would feel, I would have done it a lot sooner. It’s almost as if I can taste the future that I’ve been craving.

If you’ve been contemplating sending your short story to a friend or posting a poem to social media, you should just do it. See how you feel. It could feel awesome!