Ep 85- Breaking through fear and doubt with Jenn Mayers

You are listening to episode number 86 with Jen Myers. I'm Travia Steward. I want to help you move past barriers and obstacles that are preventing you from getting what you want in life. This is Breakthrough. My guest on the Breakthrough Podcast today is Jen Myers. The creator of Inbox Celebrity, who is a conversion copywriter and email specialist and a world-traveling homebody. Her mission on this earth is to help you profit from personality-rich, impossible-to-ignore email copy so your life revolves around your joy and not your laptop. Collectively, her clients have generated over $14.1 million in sales from horseback riding to energy work, chiropractic care, to nutrition, voice coaching, physical therapists, artists, spiritual coaches, legal professionals, and small businesses. Jen enjoys working with a variety of clients. She has been featured in publications like Forbes for her 8-minute email process. And when Jen's not whipping up a new batch of hot emails with her clients, you'll find her hiking the trails of Austin, Texas. Or enjoying her husband's latest batch of paneer tikka masala. Jen says, "Yeehaw, y'all!" So keep listening right now as we join Jen as she is in the process of sharing with you her breakthrough story that started in college.

I remember it like it was yesterday because my heart was pounding out of my chest. I had so many thoughts in my head about how I wanted to react to her, but nothing came out. Instead, all I did was just stare and agree when my college professor told me that I wasn't cut out to be a writer. I was devastated. I felt like my whole world was shattered because I always grew up love expressing myself through the written word. I remember the very first love letter I wrote was to Santa Claus, and I wasn't even old enough to write. I told my mom, "Mom, get a paper and pen. I want to write a letter to Santa Claus," and I dictated it to her. And And I was always writing little notes to my mom, to my dad, to my brother. And anytime I met a new friend, I wanted to write them a letter. And I remember that was my favorite part of school, was just expressing myself. And so to have this trusted authority tell me that I didn't have what it takes ended an entire reality that I I thought was going to happen. Because I see it now, I was putting so much trust in her professional opinion, thinking that she knew better for me than what I knew deep down I was meant for. And so I did. I stopped what I— I stopped my pursuit in writing. I convinced myself that, you know what, I don't like it anyway. Reading books is boring anyway, even though I'd sneak a book here and there. And I changed my major. I ended up changing it 3 times because now I really couldn't settle on what I wanted to do. Um, and it took years and literally a giant divine intervention to come back to writing and to feel that passion and that love that I had for that form of expression again. And it took, it took everything in my power and in my being, even the— it took power that I didn't even know I had to let go of all of the fears and doubts and shame and guilt that I had. I had believed so many other people that I find it finally came down to, well, how about I try believing myself this time? Just once. I've given everyone else a shot and I'm not happy. I'm not fulfilled. Let me try this one. And turns out that was, that was the ticket. So, you know, it's— call it ironic or poetic, but today I am a writer. And I make more money than my college professor. And my students make more money than my college professor. And which means now I'm the teacher, which is so incredible. And every person who comes to me, I know that they can be a writer. If I can be a writer, after everything I've been through, if I can write not only short stories and poetry and thank you cards, but also the marketing copy for my business, the emails, the sales pages, the website copy, if I can learn how to do that and break through all of the resistance that I had, I know my students can too because we all share that. As humans, we all share that innocent trust that we put in other people when we're first trying to learn out who we are. And it can be melted away. We can soothe ourself to finally trust ourself. And now here I am talking to Travia about it, which is mind-blowing.

Yes. I love, like, you have so many great quotes in that, you know, we can finally trust ourselves. So I just remember even when I was growing up, I put so much faith into what other people thought of me, especially my teachers. It's one of my, my 5th grade teacher who helped me find my purpose. Of course, I didn't know that until I became a life coach. I was like, oh crap, it was Miss Dodan in 5th grade. So how do you balance, you know, like, because I know like you are, you know, you want to have kids and everything. So when your, your son or daughter comes home and goes, Miss Green said such and such, you know, finding that perfect balance between, well, this is authority, isn't it? You know, there's someone who knows what they're saying, and surely if they are an English professor, they are the, the end-all be-all. How do you balance that, like, even today?

Gosh, well, I mean, I do look forward to having kids, and I have no idea what I'll say when that happens, but I know what I wish I had heard, and then probably it'll probably be something around those lines. I, I, um, I think I wish I would have had not that my parents weren't supportive, but I didn't even tell my parents. I was so ashamed of it because everyone knew Jin was— had this writing thing. So, you know, I convinced them, "No, I want to change." But I think I— if I have the relationship with my kid where I would feel— where they would feel safe to bring that to me, What I would have wanted was just someone who kept saying, "Tell me more." Yeah. "That sounds heartbreaking. What was going through your mind?" And just being really curious with me and helping me unravel it instead of telling me how I should feel or reminding me that I am a great writer, because in that moment I wouldn't have believed it. And in that moment, because I was questioning it so much, I didn't, you know, filling me up with a false sense of self wouldn't have been helpful either. Um, so that's probably what I would do for a kiddo, maybe. Who knows? I might want to punch the teacher in the face. I don't know. I don't know what I want to do. I love it. Uh, when that time comes. But yeah, I, I know for me, the whole path of letting all those doubts go. They really only melted away and actually melted away when I heard myself out and I, I didn't judge how much oil was in the candle. Like, how— what all is here to explore and understand and unravel, right? Um, you know, because there was a time where I was like, okay, am I at the end of it yet? Hey, let's— what this needs to heal fast. Right. Like, I would like, okay, I've, I've sat here and felt it for 10 minutes. That's good enough. Right. Like, yeah, that, that's like pushing it away. That is exactly pushing it away. So, um, yeah, that's—

what was the length of time from your college professor? Like, was this years? Oh, and then how did, how, you know, pushing, you know, separating the oil and from the candle and But what— it was years. And then what was the, like, the wake-up call when you're like, oh my God, I've been wasting this time when I could have been writing and following my passion?

Yeah, so the college professor told me that, I mean, I guess when I was— what, when do you go to college? 18?

18.

Um, 17, 18. And then I became a writer— that's in quotations because I think I was always a writer— but I actually got paid to be a writer when I was— I was still very young. I'm still very young. Um, when I was 24 and a half. I know, I know, I know, because I started my, my original coaching business when I was at January 1st, the year I turned 24, and then I switched copywriting halfway through. So that's how I remember that. But, um, yeah, so what is that, 6 years? I mean, it— I know for many that they spend a lot more time, um, than I did between, you know, having that heartbreaking news and finally going after what they want. But in those In those 6 years, I felt like I lived 100 lifetimes just unpeeling the people pleasing and the giving up myself for others' other wants and actually rediscovering that there are things that light me up and it doesn't involve having to make others happy, but actually just following my joy. And all of that ultimately led me to start a coaching business. Um, so I actually ended up dropping out of college the semester before I was meant to graduate because I could not— I could not follow the future ahead of me if I graduated. I saw a future that scared me in all the wrong ways, so, um, I quit. And then A friend was like, oh, you love to dance, you should be a Zumba instructor. And I was like, yeah, that's what I'm gonna do with my life. I'm gonna be a Zumba instructor. They make half a cent an hour.

Great, right?

I mean, I made $25 an hour, but I worked 4 hours a week, you know what I mean? Like, right? Anyways. And, but I, so I became a Zoom instructor, but that led me to personal training and that led me to burning out my body and being overwhelmed and ultimately putting myself in the hospital, which led me to ultimately finding copywriting because of that same friend who led me to Zumba was like, Jen, I've been hearing about this thing called coaching. You can still help people change their bodies but you don't have to work from 5 AM to 10 PM. You can set your own hours and you don't have to— I mean, I was working out with every client and then also teaching fitness classes. My whole body was wrecked. So I became a Coach. Fast forward, okay, that was January 1st, 2014. I became a Coach. Ta-da! Look at me! Fast forward a couple of months and I had I had made almost— I had made like, um, just a couple thousand dollars more than the entire year prior in a— in like 3 months, right? My world was rocked, and I was like, what have I been doing? This is great. But I was 24, I had no idea how to manage money. Um, and so in comes some more shame and guilt. I'm ugly crying, just snotty, ugly crying on my parents' cold brick kitchen floor. I'm a failure. Everybody, all the coaches I know, they're all going to think I'm— who am I? I'm a failure. Look at me. And I was just— it was the bottom of the barrel for me. I was like, this is it. I can't, I can't show my face anymore. All these people have been going like, wow, look at this young girl. Growing this business and I can't even pay my rent this month. And so I got my ass coached by my dad. And I was like, wow. You know, it was so weird. I was going through so much stuff and yet I still had this, like, you know, this witnesser still going like, Dad, you should be a coach, right? Like there was a comedian relief happening. Which was great. But my dad just— he— well, I mean, his daughter was literally in the fetal position on the floor. So I'm sure he was just— he seemed like a rock to me at the time. But I'm sure he had his own set of things going through his mind. And he, instead of trying to make me stop crying— because he did ask, he was like, can you stop crying? No, I can't. Everything's lost. You know, it was just— full dramatics, all the dramatics. That's okay. Yeah, he's like, it's okay. All right, don't stop crying, keep crying, that's okay, right? And let me ask you a couple questions. And he, he goes, first, I believe in you, baby girl. You have been through way worse than this. This is just money. You can figure the money out. You have figured out so much more than this. You've collapsed lung, multiple bones broken. You— and then he rattled off a handful of other things. Okay, you're right. Now what? And he's like, let's figure this out. Is there anyone you can reach out to? Oh, so I'm crying, but I'm also like, hmm, well, there is. I have a community of people, those Coaches who I'm now terribly afraid of. Yeah, but there— that is a community. Can you offer them anything they pay for? Yeah, I've been like helping them with their emails because it's fun, but I guess I could charge for it. Yes, yes, you can. That's a great idea, babe. Okay, are you— and then he asks me, now, are you open to doing that right now? And I just start bawling. I was like, yes, I can! And Daddy, you should be a coach. This is so good, Dad. So I get a big papa bear hug and I go send that message out to this very, I mean, relatively small community of Coaches and I just be, I am fully vulnerable. I share with them that I am feeling ashamed of even having to ask for support because I, you know, of the success that they have seen me have. But I am in this interesting position. And I want to make it right, and I also want to be of service at the same time. And so I, I will write any marketing material you need in exchange for a donation. That was basically my message. And keep in mind that I didn't use the word copy or copywriting because I had never— I hadn't heard of it yet. I didn't know what copy or copywriting was. So, um, I woke up the next day to find that I had 20 copywriting clients, and that to me was, got it, I see, okay, right? Like, I had just— I was at the bottom of whatever I thought I had or didn't have, and then overnight I had a business around writing. And at that point, I wasn't even aware yet of all the stuff I had around writing because I was doing it for free for all those months. It was like 6 or 7 months I was doing it for free just in the community. Just they'd, hey, I'm going to use this email. What do you guys think? I would just put in my 2 cents. They'd go add my 2 cents, and it would work for them. That was fun for me. There was no exchange of money. Which meant no value in it, which meant no worth tied to it. So it was really easy. It was really fun. Enter now I'm a copywriter and the business is good.

Yeah.

Well, everything came up after that. Um, while writing client words for my clients. So, uh, I got to do, I got to work through it as I was going through it. Yeah.

Right. Wow. You have so many different layers to your story and to your success and I love that you said you were ashamed to ask for support because that's, because that's such a place of like, even I, I feel that all the time because I was a high school teacher of theater for 24 years. And now I'm in the second chapter of my life and I'm going, oh, I need to ask people. And, and guys, just full disclosure. Jen is my email copywriting coach. And so I have learned so much from her. And I remember like what came up when you said ashamed to ask for support. And we had a workshop a couple of weeks ago and I said, Jen, my clients are not on my email list. And you're like, put them on your email list right now. And I was like, like immediately went, I don't know. I don't know if I'm going to do that. I've only put like 2 of them on there. And I was like, it might take another week or so. But there's something about— I love witnessing how bold you were in asking for that support. And I know that was something that I didn't do fast enough. What do you think was the difference with you? And I know you tucked and put your tail between your legs and went, ah. But what enabled you to be able to fully go through, take this path, compared to some other people who are like, I'm just going to go get a job?

Oh, that's a great question. I didn't have a plan B. I didn't have a plan B, meaning, um, so I learned this later in my life, but I equate it to so much now. Now I see like the success, and it was a complete success, saying yes to whatever my dad coached me through. Um, it comes down to this, that a friend of mine I was going to try something new and I had to do it for 30 days. And he had done it all his life. And I was like, can you just tell me, like, what's your biggest piece of advice for someone who's never done it before? Because it feels really— like, when I think about it, finishing it for 30 days, it's going to be hard. He was like, it's actually really easy when you're 100% committed. If you're 99% committed, it's going to be really hard. You don't even need to be 50%. 99% committed is going to be hard. But if you're 100% committed, you've made up your mind, and you can kill all the ideas that lead you away from your commitment. And I— when I look back on that moment, I was so committed to following my heart. Because at the time, I still wasn't quite sure what my purpose was, because only then had I just realized I'm going to start a writing business. But I was just so committed to following my heart that because it was— it presented itself to me, and I had to work through so much stuff, I knew it was the right way. And I was, I was 100% committed, not 99% committed. Yeah. Um, so when that fear came up, I was like, Great. This is the work I get to do. This is the work I get to do. I'm going to do it.

Yeah. Oh, I love it. So one thing that I, and I want everyone listening to know how sincere Jen is, which is why, like, you are the first, you know, copywriter that I've worked with and I just loved, first of all, your personality and what you bring to the working relationship. It just made me, you know, like, we don't hire people to be friends, but I just love spending the time with you. And you helped me to improve my email writing and grow my list. That's still small, you know, but I felt ashamed of having— right, I felt ashamed of having that. So Someone who's listening who is like, I don't have an email list and I need to start one, but I don't know where to go. And so that was one of the things I loved about you, that you can have a small but mighty email list. What is the importance of actually having that list, and why does it not matter if it's small or huge?

Yeah, oh, this is a great question. So there is a quote, um, by a famous financial advisor. I think his name is Ramsey Liemann Stroll— I, I may pronounce his last name incorrectly, but he says a small list that wants exactly what you're offering is better than a bigger list that isn't committed. So when we're just starting out, we actually have an advantage that someone who's been in the business for 15, 20 years and has a ginormous list doesn't. We have the ability to connect with every single person on that list. The first 98 people I had on my email list, I knew personally because I had met them at a live event or a networking event or through Zoom networking or through other programs. So I actually had a personal connection with them. That made my business run great, right? Like, I, I was writing to those people, and, and like, what— well, you write, you write to one person at a time, but I knew every person I was writing to, so I could literally picture, oh, today's email is for Kate, today's email is for John, right? Like, I knew who I was writing to. And, um, so I created a strong relationship with them. That first year in business, despite my, um, ugly cry and my parents' cold brick kitchen floor, I made $100,000 as a copywriter who had just learned what copywriting was because I was committed to creating this relationship with my 98 tiny but mighty email list. And so that is what I want to, um, my students to also believe and experience because, you know, you can always grow the list. Yeah, but like, if you have a, if you have a list of 10,000 people that you don't email and don't have a relationship with, what value is that? There's no value in that. I would rather 100 people who are really engaged than 10,000 people who have no idea who I am or why they want to hear from me.

Right. Oh, that's so good. So, you know, what I'm thinking about right now is everything about you breaking through the fear to grow this business, you know, because so many times I know in my life I talk myself out of things. I know other people who talk themselves out of things. So let's say that someone is like, You know, I think I enjoy writing. I think maybe this is something because I'm inspired by the fact that you started, you were 100% committed, and you're like, I, I earned over, you know, 6 figures the first year. I mean, that's like, oh, because a lot of people think you either have to be an author, you write, you write all these things, you know, Amazon bestseller, which we kind of know how that happens too, right, in order to do it. So If someone was starting out, what would you say would be some of the biggest mistakes? Like that you were like, if I could re— if I could do it all over again, I would make sure I do this and not that.

Yeah. I, I have 4.

Oh, okay.

4. Yes. I was just telling it off in my head, which, which ones do I want to share? 4. Um, Number one is focusing on the length of your email instead of your voice, your values, and the connection between you and your reader. Um, I think so many people are so concerned with, I don't want to bother my list, I don't want to annoy my list, that they either send like just short emails that are confusing, and because they haven't given them themselves the space to actually get really clear on what they want to say and need to say, that the reader is like, what, what are they offering? I don't even know what we're talking about here. I don't know why I should care. And I mean, so at that point, size doesn't matter. It doesn't matter that you sent a short email. You've disconnected from your reader. So one, I think The mistake is focusing on the length. If you shift that to focusing on the connection, then the size doesn't matter again. But in this case, it can be a short email as long as it connects. It can be a long email as long as it connects, as long as it's your voice, your values, and what is important to your reader. You're constantly coming back to your reader because your list— you're building your list not just because it's about you, it's about the reader. It has to connect. So that's mistake number 1, focusing on the link. Mistake number 2 is sacrificing your unique voice and writing your emails to sound professional. I think for the sake of sounding professional, right? Like there are now, since 2020, the email businesses have shifted. Almost all businesses have shifted online. Which means there's even more emails in inboxes. Now, that's not to say, so don't email. That's to say, now more than ever, your voice, your unique perspective, your opinions, your views, your values, that is how you're going to stand out in an inbox more than, do I sound professional enough? You know, maybe 20 years ago, that could have You could have gotten away with that with your, with your big truck that said, you know, best burgers in town. Well, 5 other businesses say that too, right? Like, you can't just say that. You have to stand out. And what I found is the easiest, fastest way to do that is to get to know yourself, what makes you unique, what makes you you, and share that with the world in a way that they can relate, in a way that they can feel connected. And ultimately, if they're looking for the solution that you provide, they're able to say yes because they enjoy learning from you, they enjoy reading what you have to say. And they're good. I mean, a large portion of why we buy what we buy— yes, we need the solution, but if there's 5 solutions, we're going to be basing it off of a couple of different things. And one of those things is, do I like being around that person who's providing the solution? Right? Do I believe in that company? Do I stand behind their values, right? So who you are is so important when it comes to writing your copy and growing your business. So mistake number 2 is sacrificing your unique, unique voice for the sake of professionalism. Mistake number 3 is believing that you, believing that you should be great at writing emails right now to see results. Yeah, right. Like, I think, um, and I, and I had this too when I first started out. Here's the thing, I may have had some ounce of like, oh, I love self-expression and all of that, but I did not know anything about writing marketing copy. When I really started to learn it, I would learn it and be like, oh God, I can't believe I've, I've been doing that all wrong, right? Like, I learned I was humbled again and again. Today I'm still humbled again and again. And, but I think when we don't know how to do something yet, or we haven't, or we're starting something new, we can get caught up in the belief that we should already know how to do it right now in order to see results. And if not, then we shouldn't use it. We can't use it. We're not ready. But that's not true. Um, you know, everyone's always just doing their best. We're just— we send out our emails and then we learn from the results. Oh, that didn't work. Let me see if I— let me look at the stats and see why. Um, that's actually where a lot of my copywriting skills came from, was sending out really bad stuff and seeing that it was bad, seeing that it didn't get the response. So, um, yeah, so mistake number 3: believing that you should be great at writing emails right now in order to see results. Um, and that last mistake that I mentioned is— this is more practical— is just sending too few emails. You know, good rule of thumb is send more than you're comfortable with. Let's just— let's start there. And eventually we'll get more into strategy of, okay, let's get really clear on the exact how many emails you should send. But when you're first starting out, just send more than you're comfortable with. And for some, that means one a week. For others, that means two a week. But please don't only— don't be emailing them just once a month. That's, that's not enough. I mean, think of, think of your best friend. Yeah, sure, you can go, you know, that's the beauty of best friends is you can go with long periods of time. And then once you reconnect, it's like things, you know, you started where things left off. But also with your best friend, you are in communication with them. You, you know, you're sending them something to make them smile. You're calling like, hey, just checking in on you, right? Like you have a relationship with them. And so we want to be able to build a relationship with our list. And we can't do that if we're only talking to them once a month. Because the truth is, even your most loyal email readers, they won't read every email. And so if you're only showing up once a month, assuming that everyone's going to read that one a month, which they won't, um, that's only 12 times a year. When you think of it in that perspective, like, oh, 12 times a year, that's so little, right? So it— I would start with once a week if that's what makes you uncomfortable. But yeah, so That's the— I would say that's the final mistake that's coming to me right now is sending too few emails.

Yeah. And those 4 things just reminded me of some of the things. So thank you for reiterating those things because I was like, oh yeah, I remember that. I remember Jen saying that. And so because sometimes I know I try to hold back from— do I really show my personality? Which is why— that's why I like you, because you show all of it. And I was like, I don't know, what if I, you know, run somebody off. It's like, well, those people aren't for you. And I know that, but it's, you know, there's still a fine line there. So Jen, as we wrap up, I know you have a wonderful giveaway. You have, um, tell us about that and where can they grab that and tell us like why it's so powerful.

Yeah. Um, so first off, thank you so much for inviting me today. Like this was This is by far one of the most delightful podcast interviews I've been on for the listeners and I guess viewers. They're gonna be able to see your face. I just love the structure of your podcast. I think it's so powerful to start with a story. The copywriter in me is like, yes, yes, that is how we do it. Put them in the middle of the battle first.

Good, good, good.

All right. Thank you. So I'm clearly passionate about storytelling and that expression, but I'm also passionate about working with entrepreneurs, working with people just like you, Travia. You know how much I love you and how much I love working with you. Yes. It's the most amazing thing because, I mean, ideas spread, ideas change the world. And so anytime I can play a role in helping someone Spread a greater message is like, oh, I love that. Um, and when we go into business, you know, the truth is we end up putting, um, so much effort into building the course, into structuring our programs, into creating the service, into delivering the service and the program and the product. Um, and it— so when our product or our offer doesn't sell the way we expect it to, it can feel like a rejection. It can feel devastating. It can feel like ugly crying on your parents' cold brick kitchen floor kind of thing. Um, and when in fact it doesn't have to be, right? There's actually just a very simple protocol when it comes to how do we communicate with clients, especially around promotions, you know. Um, inside promotions, we have so many goals to hit that it can feel overwhelming. And that adds to all of the confusion. And what do I say? And how much do I do social media posts? Do I do this, do that, all the things? And I've had the great privilege of being on the inside of over $8 million launches. And I've seen what works. I've seen what doesn't work. I've seen, like, time and time again, no matter how many fancy add-ons you put in, or cool tricks or design elements you put into the sales page, or, you know, like, let's open with the quiz, or what are all the, all the new fancy things. It always comes down to those emails. Are the emails converting? And because we have— they have to see the emails in order to say yes to whatever we're offering. So it's why I've put together, um, a resource called 7 Ways to Multiply Your Sales and Emails. Because I've seen time and time again that what really moves the needle forward is addressing the common objections inside those sales emails to help people make a decision. And, um, yeah, so I'm like, I'm like, everyone needs to get it for free. Have it for me, you know. Um, it's been my secret conversion guide when I go to write copy for clients. Um, and when I was working inside of a company, I would just like pull this up and be like, okay, We're in this phase of the launch. I need to be talking about this now. I need to make sure to put the, right? Like, I'm not magical. I learned lessons and skills and then I just created a cheat sheet for myself. So I was like, you know what? I think more people could have this cheat sheet. So that's what this is. It's basically my cheat sheet that I've been using to write sales emails and I'm giving it away for free and you can get your copy at my website, which is www.jennmeyers.com. J-E-N-N-M-A-Y-E-R-S.com. There are two N's in Jen. Yeah, J-E-N-N-M-A-Y-E-R-S.com. You can go there, download it, and it'll give you a full rundown of the 7 big objections and what to say depending on how that objection is showing up for your client. So you can put it into your sales emails and create blog posts with this.

And guys, it's so handy. Like, I have that actually printed, and because I used to just keep it on a file in my computer, but then I'd have to go look for it in the Jen folder on my computer. But I was like, oh, I need to print this. So it's another thing that I printed that I have next to me as a resource. Jen Myers, thank you so much for being on the podcast and sharing your wonderful personality, your gift of copy, and you're a beautiful storyteller. I love that. And I was like, I gotta have Jen on the podcast. So thank you so much. I just enjoy— and I, I have enjoyed learning from you. And I just think, you know, I just— we're gonna be in each other's world forever. But I just see so much growth and success for you and your copywriting. So thank you so much.

Thank you, Travia.

Thank you all for listening. I appreciate you all so much. If there's ever anything that I could do for you, like if you want me to talk about a very specific thing on the podcast, please feel free to email me at travia steward, T-R-A-V-I-A, coach, C-O-A-C-H, at gmail.com. And just let me know what you think, you know, if there's something that's been pressing on your mind, like, I really would love for her to talk about this And as always, I would love for you to go and leave a review of the podcast and share it with someone else who you think may find some value from it. Let me know how I can help you when in your life, how can I help you create your more? Take care, guys.

I remember it like it was yesterday because my heart was pounding out of my chest. I had so many thoughts in my head about how I wanted to react to her, but nothing came out. Instead, all I did was just stare and agree when my college professor told me that I wasn't cut out to be a writer. I was devastated. I felt like my whole world was shattered because I— and so to have this trusted authority tell me that I didn't have what it takes ended an entire reality that I thought was going to happen. Um, because I've— I see it now. I was putting so much trust in her professional opinion, thinking that she knew better for me than what I knew deep down I was meant for.