Step up to the mic.

I have my first presentation of this semester this Wednesday. For a while I convinced myself that I would have a beer or two to loosen myself up for the crowd. Almost everyone gets scared shitless up on the stage, you can see it in their shaking hands, you can hear it in their quivering voices.

Then I realised that if I were to have a drink prior to the presentation, I would have to do the same for the second one, and for the third one, and for future presentations. I'd eventually become too dependent on something unnecessary to have to carry out routine tasks, which basically defines an addiction.

Something which comes to mind is how the rock star cliche was brought up. Getting wasted all the time. Ozzy Osbourne's 2007 album "Black Rain" was the first album he ever recorded sober.

So the best thing to do is to man up and give it your best shot. The first time for anything always makes you nervous, it's just a matter of practising and growing accustomed to your situation as you encounter it over and over again.

Hopefully by the end of the year I'll be able to address a crowd without pissing myself. But I'll carry an extra pair of shorts, just in case.