Write and perform a stand-up comedy routine for friends.

“Waiting in line all I could think about was forgetting my set. It was my biggest fear. I was more afraid of forgetting lines than not being thought of as funny. I actually did forget a line while performing, but no one really noticed. I was so nervous, I questioned if anyone would laugh. People laughed, but not as much as others did when I practiced. It’s a totally different situation when you perform for people who know you versus people who don’t know you. My set was a little bit more relatable to my friends since my main topic was about my name.”

“But it was a strange experience, too. I took the stage without any real plan. I had a couple opening sentences which I knew I could use to launch me into a riff on the realities of being a father, but after that, I was winging it. I said funny things that came to mind, but immediately after saying them, I knew that there was an even funnier way to say them. [...] And for the first time in a very long time, I felt nervous as I took the stage. Those nerves evaporated after I began speaking, but for a few moments, I felt the nerves that so many of my storytelling students feel just before taking the stage.”