This past week, I spent my days discovering one of the loves of my life, Tennessee. I went on a family vacation, and one of the biggest things I took from this, other than it being near impossible to coordinate with 18 people, is that I am worthy to be heard.
One day during our vacation, I visited my friend Jessica in Nashville. There is nothing bad I can say about this city. I loved the view, the incredibly homey cafe we had coffee at and of course the southern charm of everyone we met. She invited me to an anniversary party at a recording studio. Of course, I decided to go, but I had no idea what or who I would be walking into at this soiree.
The minute we walked in I felt an overwhelming sense of comfort. The owner of the studio, Larry, was so kind and asked all of us questions about our backgrounds, what we were doing in Nashville, and then guided us through the building giving a detailed explanation of the hard work he put into to creating his studio. Everything felt genuine and I felt at home in this foreign place. About twenty minutes later, the studio was filled with people I recognized once I read their name tags.
A few of the people in this studio now were writers for Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley, up and coming country sensations, and people who have been in the music business since I have been born. I immediately went from being confident to feeling like I didn’t belong in this mix of well known celebrity. I took a minute and went outside on the deck by myself to get a breather (and fill my red solo cup) and I was quickly joined by acclaimed songwriter Wood Newton. We talked for a little bit, and by a little bit I mean I was listening in admiration about the new song he just wrote that morning. He then asked what I did. I told him about my writing experience and about the book I am near finished with. Just when I thought I had basically embarrassed myself in front of country royalty, he told me my story idea was very interesting and it would be something he would like to read. The rest of the afternoon is a blur because I was so exuberant and in disbelief that even for a brief second he thought I was cool.
I went back home to Indiana the next day and went to see “Paper Towns” (which is a MUST see). I was so happy with the entire movie, but ecstatic when they said my favorite quote from the book, “what a treacherous thing, to believe that a person is more than a person.” This quote is so powerful to me because I think it’s applicable to many things in life, like love or even when meeting someone on a back porch. People are just people, and we are all worthy to feel important and feel like we matter.
Like my shirt says, I was born in 1989 (yes this is from Taylor Swift’s concert) and I may not have as much as experience as the people in the room with me Thursday, but like them, I am also capable of great things. We all are.