Y’all!

Real talk here… I was intimidated.

When the calendar invite came to me and it had Gatech.edu and Emoryedu.. Well, my little AAS from a tech school seems like…well, a high school diploma at best in comparison. But I’m always up for a challenge and I love to step out of my comfort zone, so I began to work on my presentation. The more I did the more I felt those little butterflies of doubt and that is really not me. After all, my passion is trees and my superpower is talking and teaching trees to the public, so WHAT the freak was wrong with me? imposter syndrome? I DO NOT GET ANXIETY!!

My self talk like most, is not real positive. I decided that I’d speak to myself like a friend. GUESS WHAT?? One little “come to Jesus” meeting in my head and I was ready get that power point done..

Well, last night after eating Fox Brothers BBQ and Mac N Cheese (y’all it is the BEST in Atlanta, go now and get some) I stepped up and talked for an hour to super smart, well educated people about trees and they LOVED It! An unexpected award was presented to me at the end too to cap the the evening!

I begin all my presentations to garden clubs and neighborhood groups with this: “You will learn much from me about tree health and safety. Lots of facts and guidance about care the maintenance of the trees that surround us everywhere. This is what I do, but my real job is to make you love trees.”

On a daily basis, I strive to curate a passion with both my residential and commercial clients by asking to see trees through my eyes and experiences with these “botanical monuments of nature”.

Today I am better than yesterday for this knowledge I give others.

And that, y’all, is PASSION.