It’s always a little nerve-wracking for me to give a school presentation. (That is an understatement, but I won’t tell you how much of one.) I wonder: Will I be entertaining? Informative? Fun? Will I tell the students something that makes an impact? Those kids are the readers who matter, and I don’t want to leave them yawning. Or confused. Or permanently turned off reading and heading toward a life of darkness, despair, and criminality.
But a couple of weeks ago I gave a presentation in a school, and one of the students took notes on a post-it. As I left, she handed it to me.
On the other side it said:
Maybe next time I won’t be quite so nervous.