Panic! at the #nErDcampMI

I am one of those who would consider herself a reader, never a writer, a mindset I plan to change. #nErDcampMI was a huge, life-changing experience. Instead of trying to cover the whole thing, I am going to write a Slice of Life-type post about it.

Waking up in Dublin, Ohio on July 7th, I was completely pumped to travel the rest of the trip to Michigan (started out in NC) for #nErDcampMI. I enjoyed our trip through the Ohio countryside, including the site of two Amish horse and buggies. I think it was around Ann Arbor that the panic started to set in. I could feel my heart pounding and I started sweating. By the time I was walking into Western School, I thought I was going to throw up (and I really had to pee).

I recognized Niki (@daydreamreader) right away. Instead of greeting her warmly like a normal person, I looked down and mumbled my last name. I grabbed my swag (including my free copy of The Troublemaker), thinking to myself, "How many books are in here?" I hightailed it to the restroom.

I was still extremely flustered when I entered back into the commons. I saw @colbysharp. I wanted to greet him, hug him, thank him for everything, but I couldn't move. I thought, "What have I gotten myself into?"

Thank God for Donalyn Miller! @donalynbooks was greeting people at the name tags. I waited my turn to talk to her, even though I was still anxious. She recognized my Twitter handle, called me friend and hugged me. I should have been thinking, "How in the world does she know me?" Instead, I thought, "I'm going to survive this."

I knew I had to move on because everyone wanted to talk to Donalyn. I smiled hesitantly at a few people, checked out the EIGHT books in my swag bag and decided I needed some water. As I was filling up a water bottle, my Twitter librarian friend Michelle Simpson greeted me. Talking to @m_simpson and her husband, Chris, caused my anxiety to ease completely. I knew as it was time to go to the first session that not only would I survive #nErDcampMi, but would experience the best (un)conference of my life. And I did. See you nerdies in 2015!