Day #16 in A Year of Positivity

“Until you spread your wings, you will have no idea how far you can fly.” – Unknown

Hello and welcome back to A Year of Positivity! I don’t know who came up with this quote, and I’ve tried googling a name, though nothing has come up in my search. If anyone reading this knows who came up with it, feel free to reach out or comment below.

When I came across this quote, “Until you spread your wings, you will have no idea how far you can fly,” I just had to use it for this next post! This quote is pretty accurate, at least when I look at some major accomplishments in my life.

In the year 2009, I packed up my bags and moved across the country from Pennsylvania to California with no job to back up my savings, and I flew solo. Considering I’ve spent my entire life until that point on the eastern seaboard, most people I knew then had told me that this was a pretty bold move. At first, it was quite scary moving out there on my own, because it was the first time I was living out on my own, though I got the hang of beautiful San Diego and met a lot of amazing people out there. Life even taught me a few valuable lessons out there that I will carry with me throughout the rest of my adulthood.

In 2018, I published my first book, Broken (see book trailer to the right). I’d been going back and forth between the publisher for months before deciding to go into contract with the publisher for that book back in April of that year, and then it came out in September. I’ve had a couple poems published under my given birth name (different from my published pseudonym, Jenah Pierce) that were in a vast collection of poetry works from Poetry.com, but I had never truly published a novel before, when I’d been writing many manuscripts since I was fifteen-years-old.

Moving forward with a publisher on my debut novel was truly terrifying, and my anxiety was pretty high through the entire process. Then when Broken was finally available for sale, it became exhilarating! I can say the same for when I decided to self-publish its sequel, Dawn of Darkness (see book trailer to the right), because it’s a whole different way of going about publishing. I wanted more control over the entire process, and because it was my first time without a publisher, I spent months and months just researching each individual step to make sure I did everything right. Now, I’m confident in this process and can’t wait to get more books out there for you all to read!

Today’s quote can also apply to my experience with performing in the past at Celtficfest in Bethlehem, PA as an Irish Step Dancer with the O’Grady Quinlan Academy. I was a nervous little dancer on stage, though I got plenty of support and encouragement from my instructor (Maureen O’Grady), and one of my best friends was also with me in the dance classes. When we performed on stage at Celticfest, though, it was one of the best feelings in the world. I love being Irish, and Irish Step Dancing is one of my favorite ways to show my Irish pride.

These are just a few examples of how this quote has been accurate for me. Spread those wings, folks, and let them fly! Let them prove to you just how much potential you have!