When I was little, I had a dream that I'd be famous. I always thought I'd be a performer who would sing for sold out crowds, night after night. I wanted to see my name in lights and live the glamorous life of a Hollywood pop star.
Most people don't realize their dream that they have when they are eight years old. I loved performing, but I wasn't near the caliber of what it takes to make it into the music business. I let go of my dream, but put me in a car with my iPod on the highest maximum volume, and you are sure to get a performance.
I struggled a bit through college, trying to figure out what I was supposed to be doing for the rest of my life. I dabbled in radio, hosting my own show on my college radio station, journalism, video production, and photography. I was obsessed with the communications field as a whole, but I had no real direction with it.
I went to grad school after earning my bachelors degree. I missed school so much and the structure that came with it, so back to school I went. In December 2014, I went back to school at Sacred Heart University and earned my masters degree in Digital Multimedia Journalism.
While working on my book, Forever Her Girl: The Stories and Experiences of a Major Fangirl, I decided to self promote the book as much as I could. To this day, I have sent out over 150 copies worldwide. I'm very proud of it.
Email me if you'd like a copy of my book, I'm happy to share!
Much like I found inspiration from Paula Abdul at a young age, I want to always leave behind wisdom to those who come after me. I was excited and honored when Daniel G. Garza asked me to come on his podcast to share my story.
In October 2020, I joined Daniel on his show, Put It Together Conversations. Before I went on his podcast, I sent him my book so he could read it and get to know me a little bit better. I met Daniel when I had traveled to Los Angeles for the iPain Summit in 2019. Daniel and I spoke briefly after the awards ceremony and he mentioned that he had a podcast. We finally did the show this year!
When the day came for me to do the interview with Daniel, I was in panic mode all day long. As a journalist, I'm used to being the one asking the questions and knowing where the conversation was going. Being the interviewee, this was all new to me.
Daniel and I, iPain Hero of Hope Awards, 2019
On Put It Together Conversations, Daniel had only planned the first question. The entire dialogue was up to me. We discussed my passions, my book, the world of journalism, and my humble beginnings as a writer. However, we also discussed bullying, social media, and being picked on and teased.
I really don't know why I had been so nervous. It was a conversation between two friends and we shared a lot of laughs. As we got further into the conversation, I realized that Daniel had many of the same experiences with bullying as I did. As I said in my interview with him, I think those of us who have been bullied have a different understanding of treating people fairly. For me, I'm the friend who sends cards, candy, gifts and flowers at the drop of a hat when my friends are having a tough time. I always want my friends to know that they are treasured and loved because I know what it's like firsthand to not feel like that.
As we wrapped up our conversation, the hour long show ended. It definitely went by way too quick and I'd love to do another interview with Daniel again sometime. However, after the show, I was curious what Daniel really thought about my book. I never thought I'd see the day where my writing affected someone as it did to Daniel. He cried as he shared how he lived through the book with me and he remembered what it was like to be picked on and teased.
If anything, my podcast interview with Daniel opened my eyes that my writing did matter. I have been hearing from more and more people that I truly have a gift for the art of writing. I never thought that people would care what I had to say, but I've been encouraged many times, by many different people to continue my efforts and release a second book. Maybe the dream of fame is still alive, just instead of a performer, I'm supposed to be an award winning writer. Who knows, maybe that second book is out there somewhere in the universe, waiting for me to come along and find it.
Signing off,
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